ENHA: Why I am Contesting

ENHA: Why I am Contesting

Ogara

The House of Assembly candidate on the platform of the Labour Party in Enugu State in the next general election, Mr. Harrison Ogara has said that his desire to be at the State Assembly was borne out of his desire to effectively represent the good people of Igbo Eze South.

            Speaking to The Starlite Newspapers, Mr. Ogara said his Igbo Eze South State constituency, more than ever before, needs a person that would speak for her at the House of Assembly where the best hands and brains would converge to make laws for the people. He stressed that in the past 23 years, Igbo Eze South had not been lucky to have her voice resonate on the floor of the State House of Assembly and according to him, it accounts for the visible neglect, deprivation and worst infrastructure in all the parts of the local government.

            He said: “Since 1999, I have been part of this system. I have also been a player in the system. I witnessed how our affairs were handled by people who we elected into offices especially in the state House of Assembly. It is very unfortunate we had not been clear about what we want in terms of representation at the Enugu State House of Assembly. The State House of Assembly is a place where the representatives of the people of Enugu State come together to make laws for the state. As a representative from Igbo Eze South Constituency, you have the mandate of the people of the constituency to make laws that will protect their interest. Because they surrendered their mandates to you, you are there on their behalf and not for your own personal gains. You are accountable to the people that elected you. From time to time, you are expected to come around and brief the people about what you are doing in the floor of the house. The people surrendered their mandate to you trusting that you will effectively defend their positions in terms of what they receive from government.

            “In other words, you are expected to fight to see that your people get what is due to them. When your people have no good road network, it is the duty of the member of the house of Assembly to make sure that his constituency benefits from the programmes of government. A weak member may not even know how to ensure that projects that will elevate the lives of the people are captured during budget defence. A member if not sure of why he was elected, may decide to screen himself off from his constituents with his tinted car only to come back after four years to ask for support for another term of four years. A good member can attract the best of infrastructure to his constituency.

            “Today, Igbo Eze South LG has the worst of the road networks in Enugu State. It is certainly not a good testimonial but it is proper to state that the deficit in infrastructures, especially road, has a history. And the history is that we were not doing enough to make the governments in power see reasons why our local government must be treated fairly in the distribution of infrastructures.

            “When I am elected to represent my people, the desires of the people of Igbo Eze South shall form the centerpiece of my advocacy on the floor of the House of Assembly. We cannot do things the same way and expect different results. For the past 24 years, I have used The Starlite Newspapers as a platform to demand for justice, equity and fair play for the people. Then, it was all about advocacy but today, it is proper that we get into the office to practically espouse those ideals we had called for all these years”.

            However, Mr. Ogara called on voters to make informed choices by voting for who they can trust into offices adding that for over two decades, the people of Igbo Eze South had been loyal to the PDP which in turn has failed to reciprocate the gesture by refusing to develop the local government. He therefore, urged the voters to vote in Labour Party from top to bottom if there should be a change in the way government is run in Nigeria adding that the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi is a strong brand that can make the change that Nigerians desire. He also asked the people of Enugu State to vote the LP governorship candidate, Barrister Chijioke Edeoga, Senatorial Candidate, Barr. Okey Ezea, House of Representatives candidate, Hon. Chidi Obetta to clearly complete the cycle.

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