By Angela Agoawike
Many States in the South East, especially Imo, which happens to be my State are infrastructurally deficient. And I say this with all sense of responsibility, and also, mindful of the sporadic infrastructural projects that are going on in the region
Sadly, Okigwe North Senatorial District, in Imo State seems to have be one of the worst hit areas. The zone is hugely dilapidated, as if it has not witnessed the positive effects of governance in the last few decades.
Interestingly enough, this is now the same zone with no one sitting in the Senate Chambers in Abuja representing it, since the unfortunate death of its former Senator, Ben Uwajumogu more than a year ago.
Following the Senator’s death, a bye-election was held by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), to fill the vacant seat. The election, which was a square-off between the ruling All Progressive Congress, (APC), and the major opposition People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), was said to have been won by the APC
Unfortunately, more than one month after INEC called the election for the APC, the Senatorial zone is yet to know who its Senator is. This is a rare occurrence, if not unprecedented in the Nigerian Democratic experiment, as before now, the vote has been cast for the candidate fielded by a party, rather than the party, at least officially.
Notwithstanding, having won the election, the onus is on the ruling (at both Federal and State levels) APC to inform us of who our representative (Senator) is or would be. Truth is that we need someone to complain to, in the hope that the person may table the state of local governments, (such as Ihitte-Uboma) under this Senatorial District before the appropriate authorities, again, with the hope that they would devote some time, and a little of the huge resources of this country to the area.
Before you ask, yes, the constituent parts of this Senatorial District have other elected and appointed representatives in the local, State, and national levels. However, going by the state of infrastructural development, the zone is as good as having no one to plead its case.
So, as we begin the year 2021, a year we hope and pray for new beginnings, let us at least have our own Senator: it is our constitutional entitlement, and by not ‘appointing’ the ‘winner’ of the bye-election, the APC and INEC are denying the zone that constitutional entitlement.