I’m in the race to serve my people –Onyeama, APGA Rep candidate

Isingwu Community Second­ary School is one of the very old renowned community secondary schools in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia state.

The school was rated high with others like Ohuhu Community Secondary School, Wil­liams Memorial Secondary and Government Secondary Schools , Umuahia, to mention but these three.

The fortunes of these schools were at their peak in the sixties and seventies when they were the only schools that competed with oth­ers outside their zones.

But towards the nineties, the fortunes of these schools started dwindling to the point that students abandoned some of them to face miracle centres. Time was when the school could not boast of twenty students, who registered for WAEC examinations. That was when government claimed to have taken over administration and running of the schools in the state. They ran aground all the schools they claimed to have taken over and all of them became shadows of their former selves.

But a candidate for the House of Repre­sentatives on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chudi Onyeama, renovated the school, built an ICT Centre that was commissioned around October last year. He equipped the ICT Centre with over 50 computers and since that event, things have been turnrd around in terms of admission for the people of the area.

The school was about to close down, but immediately it was shifted in the right direc­tion, the enrollment number increased because there is something they could look forward to.

In terms of road infrastructure, he has done wonderfully well as well, as he has lit up his village through donation of transformers to the community, drilled borehole, even to the com­munity school. He has also built the Commu­nity Hall, which was commissioned last year.

The efforts he has put in his village made his people and the people of his constitu­ency to urge him to represent them at the House of Representatives and already, he has succumbed to their call. Fortunately, too, he was chosen as a consensus candidate on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, during their recent primaries held in Umuahia.

Onyeama, who spoke at the primaries ground said if he could achieve excellence for his people with his personal resources, he would do more now that his people had mandated him to represent them.

“This is the little I have done in my village, with my little personal resources, which I want to replicate in my constituency across the state. If it is for my personal needs, I think God has been faithful to me in that area. I feel bad sitting back to watch people who promised that they are going there to help develop our state ending up defrauding the people . If I can commit my personal money to ensure the hap­piness of my people , you can imagine what I will do with permission for representation.

“When they started coming to me for this task, I had some reservations, but realizing that it would not be proper to say no to my people when they want me to do something for them. I was encouraged , moved and invited and informed that If I could do what I did for them from my personal income, that they believed I could do that for them, I would excel if I represent them in the house. That I could serve my people well. All these have nothing to do with me, it is all about Community service.

“My reasons for running is to ensure that Abia is changed for better, Abia is the least of all the states in terms of development and progress, there is a need to turn around the events here. First and foremost there is the need for youth empowerment. There is the problem of unemployment in our state. Also, there is problem of education, healthcare in­frastructure decay, etc. There are thousand and one things to be done here but we have defined clearly four major areas to handle. First , Abia will be a focal point, because it is the center of trade in this state. If we turn around Abia, clearly Abia state will start moving forward to the right direction.

The reason why I come into the race is that my Umuahia/Ikwuano Federal Constituency has not been getting their due all these years. Personally, from my own village , I have been able to do a whole lot.

God is on our side and the people are with us, we are aware that the only strategy they have is rigging, but this time around, rigging will not help them, because we are going to flex our muscles if that is what it takes not to allow them have their ways in rigging this election. The people desire a change and that change is what we intend to achieve fair suc­cess. No stone should left unturned.

“We are determined to get a for the people of Abia and nothing will stop us from achiev­ing that feat here in Abia state. Already, the people are tired of the whole thing. The time for rigging and imposing candidates on Abia state is over, If we were coursed in the past, that course is over , we are going to turn things around. are going to turn around things. People have cried out , even if they intend to rig, it will no longer be possible. We know the tricks they used in the past and we have strate­gies to navigate those tricks.

“My advice to my supporters is to go out there and tell the people the truth, that if it entails going to every house they should do that to talk to every individuals to tell them that what is at stake is that we have to move the state forward, to turn around the situation. If you are travelling on a road to nowhere, you have two options, either to make a u-turn or start traveling. We cannot afford to make a mistake again.

“Abians should know that the future of their children and grand children is in their hands, if they want fish instead of being taught how to fish it is left for them to collect money from them and vote for them. They have to make a decision whether they are comfortable the way things are in this state. They should choose a candidate that will serve them and not the one they will all serve as slaves as is happening in the state today.

By Chuks Onuoha