By Ijeoma Ukwuani
Hon. Nelson Uduji, is the member representing Awgu South Constituency in Enugu State House of Assembly. He is one of the many men seeking a re-election for the incumbent state governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. In this chat with LEADERSHIP Scorecard, the Chairman, House Committee on Youth, Sports and Security Matters gives his reason.
You have continually stood up for the governor and countered criticisms directed at him. Many would think it is because you seek to ride on the wave of popularity which comes with being in his camp?
My being a member of the Enugu State House of Assembly is not due to Ugwuanyi’s influence or any form of relationship which we have. I am here today because the people in my constituency voted me in. Having said all that, why do I support him so vociferously? Well, since his administration came on-board things have turned around, especially in my constituency. It has never been like that. In fact, what is going on in my community can only be seen, not imagined. I support Ugwuanyi for my people’s sake and not mine, because he has impacted their lives positively. Now, I represent the people who have voiced their support for the governor. What would you expect me to do? When a good man is in power, the people simply rejoice. That is what is happening in my constituency now.
On October 18, 2017, Governor Ugwuanyi flagged off gateway projects in line with an urbanisation project located at Aki n’Ukwa Junction and this gateway project which falls under your constituency worth N358m. How far has the project gone and what is your evaluation of its progress?
After the project was flagged off and the contract awarded, as the representative of the people, it is my duty to follow-up whatever project my constituency attracted. I approached the contractor and he said that the contractors handling the federal projects said that (the local contractors) should wait on with their work and they would do theirs later on. I want to thank the governor for remembering the people of Awgu. The constituency is quite rural in nature but, we all know that if the project being executed presently is done with, it will boost commercial activities, open up the rural areas and improve local commerce etc. I appreciate the state government for this gesture. I believe that, in no distance time, when the federal contractors must have finished, the Enugu State government will commence in full force.
According to the State Executive Council (SEC) and the governor’s office, the urbanisation project would bring about a commercial boost. How do you think this can come about?
You know they say development spreads. You don’t just come and start imposing development in a particular place. It spreads. I believe [that] if that place is as the state government wants it to be, soon, the whole of that area (Mgbowo, Awgu and others) will start developing.
When you are in power, know the need of your people and follow it accordingly, they will be happy with you; and when elections come, you can be rest assured they will queue behind you.
What are the necessary indicators that make you believe in an impending commercial boost? There are no banks, higher institutions or anything of the sort in Awgu, yet you speak of indicators. What are these indicators?
The indicators are there. Aki n’Ukwa Junction is a popular place. It is as if is the only commercial arena before now but what they are trying to do there now is a huge step towards boosting it. Talking about banks, you know banking is a business and cannot be established where there are no prospects of making money. Banks will come when the Aki na Ukwa Junction gets boosted. Other businesses will follow in quick succession.
You mentioned schools, but you must know that development is not a government-alone thing; it is done by both the government and the people. I also know of a local who is constructing an industry somewhere there. All I can tell you is that development is coming. The good will has attracted the opening of a College of Education Ihe but, just as I was saying, development spreads. When that school takes off in full, all of that area would draw development to itself. The banks you talked about cannot stay away when the students descend on the place.
How would you rate the State Government’s provision of rural development, education, youth and women empowerment as it affects your constituency?
As much as I am not the government’s mouthpiece, I must speak from my heart and from what I see. I am a representative of the people and, though government is doing its best, we must accept the fact that Rome was not built in a day. It is a gradual process.
Now, as for youth empowerment, the governor, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Office of the Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth, has done a lot of things, and some are still ongoing. The young people of Enugu, particularly Awgu, are being trained, empowered and given loans to start their own private enterprises. As I am talking to you now we have about 3000 youths that have benefitted from Ugwuanyi’s youth empowerment.
When you talk about the women, he goes around all the markets monthly to empower petty-business women and young men by giving them financial assistance. Some gets N50,000, some N100,000, others N200,000. This is what Ugwuanyi does monthly in all the local governments in Enugu State. This gesture assists the traders in empowering the youth. There are so many other things he is doing through the Ministry of Youth & Sports, as well as through his SSA’s office.
In addition to that, I do believe that, within the next few months, there will be a seminar organised by the local government to train the youth to make use of their hands and establish their own businesses. The SSA to the Governor on Youth goes around the locale to conduct this and, when all is done, he gives them some start-up funds to help them to establish their own thing and grow. If you do go onto the streets, you will observe that the young ones are the ones saying “Ugwuanyi, Ugwuanyi, carry go, carry go.” They know how much they have benefitted from this government.
On March 17, 2016, 76 native farmers of Awgu local government were arrested by men alleged to be soldiers, for resisting the destruction of their farmlands by cattle-rearers. That brought the local government to the brink of chaos. How have the people of Awgu fared, security-wise, since then?
I think when you talk about security in Enugu State (Awgu inclusive), the state government is doing its best. When that incident occurred, I was around and we ran to the governor with the then local government chairman. Everyone went to the station then and we followed it up and, I can assure you, today, the state is one of the safest places in Nigeria. Although we do have some reports saying “herdsmen this, herdsman that” but since that issue and the governor paid the president a visit, things have changed around here.
Now, let me clear (before some people take me to task unnecessarily) this up. Yes, there is peace but it does not mean that the herdsmen are not there. They are there but we co-exist, due to the way the governor handles issues. Recently, there was a report that the herdsmen have planned to attack. You know, it is something we have to take pre-caution about – hear-say, I mean. Some people have started raising alarm but, in spite of that, Awgu is peaceful, even though we have herdsmen. We just co-exist.
What is your position regarding Governor Ugwuanyi’s re-election bid in 2019?
Let me put it this way: Governor Ugwuanyi’s re-election in 2019 is as good as done. The issue now is that, though he was voted en masse in 2015, we want 2019 to be a landslide. The people of Enugu State should come out and let their voices be heard once again; let them say again what they said in 2015.
As for my constituency, I have always told them to go get their voter’s cards, come out en masse and elect Ugwuanyi again, so that he can finish the good work he has started.
