why Okigwe should vote Uwajumogu for senate.

WHY OKIGWE SHOULD VOTE UWAJUMOGU FOR SENATE Nnamdi Ibe Some critics, either out of bias or ignorance, have been saying all sorts of negative things, as well as, write and castigate the All Progressive Congress APC and its candidate Rt. Hon Benjamin Uwajumogu without taking into cognizance what the forthcoming Okigwe senate election stands for and the position of the Igbo nation in the politics of Nigeria today. Representation of an interest is not about bias, hate, partisan sentiments or preference but purely about the interest and wellbeing of the society and the people, as well as, the political advantage and antecedent of the candidate in terms of service delivery and experience. In terms of who best suits the purpose, for the common interest of the masses. As a people, until we learn to separate sentiments from reality, Okigwe people and the Igbo nation shall continue to be wonderers and outsiders in the decision-making and sharing of resources of this nation. Let us not make any mistake about this, the political party, experience and the quality of our representatives determine how we are perceived, what we get and our position in the country. We do not expect to elect political party extremists, inexperienced secessionists and visionless bigmouths who oppose the ruling party, as representatives and hope to ever get results. For instance, the entire southeast geo-political zone voted for one political party in the 2015 senate elections and could not produce a senator from the ruling All Progressive Congress APC, that could occupy the already zoned position of the Senate President, yet we complain to the high heavens that we are being marginalized. Who actually is marginalizing Ndi Igbo.? The fundamental reasoning to this question is that Ndi Igbo has been the ones marginalizing themselves by not showing enough commitment to political development and education. Ndi Igbo has continued to vote their sentiments and individuals with low experience, no pedigree, questionable background and insignificant political values. These people end up in the senate being full time bench warmers, because they do not have the ranking or the political party advantage needed to effect change, important committees elude us. These class of representatives end up not proposing any bill or motion at all; they are just happy answering the name "senator" without any contribution to the plight of their people. When there are issues bothering on our development and general wellbeing, the very reason they were elected in the first place, they are lost more than the people that elected them. They are interested in pursuing their party agenda, thereby undermining the development chances of the Igbo nation. However, we the people of Okigwe zone have the opportunity to change the trend. Now is the time for us to elect a senator for Ndi Igbo who would not only work for us and do so with zeal and determination, but also work to end southeast marginalization. We need people who can hold constructive dialogues with their colleagues from other zones on general matters affecting Ndi Igbo and the nation. We need great political negotiators, persons with the capability to talk to other great Nigerians and be not intimidated by their pedigree. We need a senator with proven track record of delivery. We need a senator that can ginger other political office holders from our zone to be united on delicate and complex state matters. We need a senator that can motivate and support others when things do not go as expected. We need a senator that is willing to sacrifices his personal needs and comforts for the interest of the masses . We needs creative and visionary senator who is dynamic, brave and convincing. We need a senator who is in trend with current realities and has the capacity to build bridges of friendship and partnership across party lines and ethnic borders On 23rd of July, Okigwe voters will troop out in their numbers to perform a crucial civic duty. They will in exercise of the power vested on them by the country’s electoral law and constitution as amended, be voting this particular day to elect a Senator to represent them in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, Abuja. This much talked about and highly anticipated election is a fallout of the judgement of the Election Petitions Tribunal and that of the Appeal Court, Owerri division, both of which nullified the March 28, 2015 Senate election in the zone. The landmark judgments of the Courts elicited so much jubilation and excitement in the land because of the widespread irregularities that marred the nullified contest. It is no more news that in a desperate attempt to win at all cost the then ruling party, the PDP, used all manipulative and coercive strategy at its disposal to brutally thwart the wishes of the people. Unfortunately few months after that barefaced, brazen daylight robbery the sword of justice descended mercilessly on them and returned the stolen mandate back to its genuine and original owners. Thus, return to the polling booths to give the people their legal and lawful right to freely and fairly, on a level playing field, elect a Senator of their choice. So far indication emanating from the area show that deciding on who to send to the red chamber of the NASS seem an already settled issue considering that of all those jostling for the coveted seat only one candidate possesses the right mix of intellect, experience and antecedent such a highly respected office demands. This candidate who stands shoulders and heads above his opponents is also been tipped because he is flying the flag of the party controlling power at both the state and federal level. Without doubt the man of the moment whom everybody is rooting to vote into office is Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu, the candidate of the ruling All Progress APC. No doubt the people of Okigwe seem united in the decision to send this man to Abuja because he has all it takes to give them the voice, the visibility and above all bring home dividends of democracy exactly as he did when he was the Speaker of the State Assembly. It has been said and truthfully too, that only Rt. Hon. Uwajumogu can give the people the kind of qualitative, people oriented and democracy dividends driven representation they have been yearning for since 1999. The belief in several quarters is that since he was able to do it as a Speaker, meeting and even surpassing their expectations in Abuja is already a concluded matter. It is on record that as Speaker Hon. Uwajumogu, articulated and implemented pan Okigwe agenda. This blueprint which he evolved to leapfrog the zone made him see the entire Okigwe Zone as his constituency and he worked tirelessly toward transforming and developing it. The result of that agenda can be seen in all the nooks and crannies of Okigwe zone today. They include network of asphalted roads, new and standard stadium, construction of a cultural centre for Okigwe zone, citing of Malaysian market Obowo, construction of skill acquisition centres, general Hospitals, digging of boreholes, donation of transformers and electric cables, renovation of health centres, educational infrastructure like the modern school buildings in every ward and the icing on the cake, the Imo State College of Education, Ihitte Uboma, the Imo state polytechnic Umunakanu Ehime Mbano and a catholic university in Onuimo . He empowered hundreds of Okigwe sons, daughters, women and youths thus changing their lives positively. Okigwe should also vote Hon. Uwajumogu to get hooked to the national political grid. With President Mohammadu Buhari of APC the president of the country and Gov. Rochas Okorocha of APC governor of the state, voting Hon. Uwajumogu to form a trinity becomes a sine qua non for the zone. Hon Uwajumogu in Abuja would not only open doors of great opportunities for our people but would more importantly connect us to the national grid with its numerous inherent benefits. It is time to break away from the backwaters which voting a party not in power had confined Okigwe zone in the current dispensation and the only assured and credible way to do that is through an overwhelming endorsement of the aspiration of our son Rt Hon Benjamin Uwajumogu to represent Okigwe in the Senate of Federal Republic of Nigeria.