 |
| Hon. Ndudi Elumelu. |
The entire mix of his noble
personage has distinguished him as a man of value. An ebullient young man;
urbane and dashing; noble in character with a pleasantly large heart; bright,
jovial, bouncy and lively, yet modest and reserved.
Hon. Ndudi Godwin Elumelu, who
represents Aniocha-Oshimili Federal Constituency in the House of
Representatives, and currently the leader of the Minority Caucus in the House
of Representatives, is not one who goes about flaunting his striking
credentials as a seasoned, tested and go-getter politician, democrat and
legislator per excellence.
On his 55th birthday last April
15, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, in a glowing tribute described the
lawmaker as “a courageous leader with sterling accomplishments.” He recalled that
Elumelu’s contributions in the legislature, especially in the power sector
probe of some years ago have remained remarkable.
He said of Ndudi Elumelu: “As a
law maker, you have remained outstanding, and as a politician you are a leading
light and a role model for upcoming politicians. As a government, we appreciate
your contributions to the growth and development of our country, particularly
your role in the development of the power and health sectors when you headed
the committees of the House in those sectors from 2007-2010 and 2011 – 2015.
“We remain proud of your
leadership role in the National Assembly, and we will continue to make
supplications to God to grant you good health and greater years ahead,”
Governor Okowa said.
Of course, the people of
Aniocha-Oshimili Federal Constituency that he represents in the Green Chamber
know him so well and acknowledge him as a man of the people; one who is
passionate about the welfare of his constituents and Nigerians at large. He is
zealous to provide good and purposeful representation and attract dividends of
democracy for his constituents.
Indeed, it was his unparalleled
track record scintillating representation for two terms in the past that
spurred the people to call on him to return to the House of Representatives on
their behalf.
Nothing better expressed the
esteem in which the people held him. Chief Ikechukwu Okakwu, a Senior Special
Assistant to the Governor of Delta State once confirmed this, saying: “We the
indigenes of Aniocha-Oshimili value Hon. Ndudi Elumelu’s representation.”
Another Senior Special Assistant, Hon. Adim Elue concurred. “We know that he
(Elumelu) will perform. He did it before,” Hon. Elue said.
Indubitably, Ndudi Elumelu did
not disappoint as he threw himself into the campaign turf, contested and won
the elections, thus returning to the green chambers after four years. But how
has he fared in the first year of his return to the House of Representatives?
For one year in his third tenure
as the representatives of the people of Aniocha Oshimili in the green chambers
of the National Assembly, Hon. Elumelu has demonstrated good leadership; he has
shown great concern not only to the people of his immediate constituency, but
the people of Nigeria as a whole.
As the Minority leader of the
House of Representatives, he brought his legislative experience and maturity to
bear in the affairs of the House. His excellent human relations and respect for
people could be the key for his achievement so far as the representatives of
the people.
Major Achievements of Hon Ndudi
Godwin Elumelu in His One Year of Representation at the House of
Representatives are listed thus and they are verifiable:
Employment:
Facilitated the employment of 4
persons at the Maritime University, Okerenkoko
Facilitated the employment of 1
person at the Federal University, Wukari
Facilitated the employment of 2
persons in Standard Organization of Nigeria SON
Facilitated the employment of 2
person in Federal Inland Revenue Services
Facilitated the employment of 1
person in Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA
Facilitated the employment of 1
person in the University Teaching Hospital, Abakiliki
Facilitated the recruitment of 9
Constables into the Nigeria police Force
Facilitated the engagement of 2
persons into the Nigerian Army.
Facilitated the employment of 1
person at the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba.
Facilitated the employment of 1
person at the University of Calabar, Calaber.
Over 300 persons have been given
recommendation letters to many Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies
(MDAs.)
Empowerment:
Over 242 persons engaged as
Personal Assistants across the Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency.
Over 45 Million Naira worth of
food items distributed across the Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency to
alleviate the effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the people.
Infrastructure:
Facilitated the provision and
installations of Solar Street lights in Ogwashi uku in Aniocha North and Atuma
in Oshimili North.
Facilitated relief materials
from National Emergency Management Agency for flood victims at Oko and other
neighbouring communities in Oshimili South Local Government Area.
Facilitated the quick approval
of relief materials for persons affected by Fire incident at the Ogbongonogo
old Market through the National Emergency Management Agency.
Many other projects are waiting
for award in the 2020 budget.
Bills:
Bills by Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu,
which have been presented to the House and are in different legislative stages,
are listed thus:
1. A bill for an act to provide
for the establishment of the Federal University of Technology Asaba.
2. A bill for the establishment
of the chartered institute of health insurance and managed care of
Nigeria.
3. A bill for an act to
establish the national health compliance audit scheme.
4. A bill for an act to provide
for the registration and regulations of lobbyists in Nigeria.
5. Electoral amendment act bill
6. National health insurance act
(repeal and enactment) bill
7. Data protection bill
8. Nigerian metallurgical
industry bill.
9. A bill for an act to
establish the maritime university okerenkoko.
10. Federal audit service
commission bill.
11. Bill to Increase capital
budget to 40 percent.
12. A bill for an Act to alter
the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to
provide for the alteration of the first schedule section (3) part 1 State of
the Federation to provide for the creation of Anioma State and other related
matters.
Motions:
He has a good number of motions
to his credit and some of them are also listed thus:
Motion on the need to
investigate the alleged sleaze, misappropriation and non-profitability of the
Nigeria Communication satellite company (Nigcomsat) limited.
Motion on the need to
investigate the award of contract for the rehabilitation of the railway tract
network eastern line contract 7-(km 803 to km 1443 Kuru to Maiduguri) to Messrs
Lingo Nigeria limited in association with Strasky Husty and Partners limited of
Czech republic.
Motion on the need for the
effective enforcement of the interstate lockdown by security agents moved by
Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and 9 others.
Motion on the need to
investigate the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the award of
contract for the emergency procurement of specialized medical personal
protective Equipment (PPE) for Health workers and provision of community based
sensitization campaign against the spread of Covid-19 and other communicable
diseases in the Nine State of the Niger Delta Region.
Motion for the need for the Federal
Government to grant operational right to Bayelsa Airport moved by Rt. Hon.
Elumelu and 6 others.
Motion on the need to
investigate Massrs Ninno Engineering Nig Ltd, Petrogas Specialist Service Ltd
and Quintus Investment Co. Nig Ltd for abandoning the construction of
Onicha-uku/ Idumuje, Onicch-uku/Idumu-Ogo road and Onicha-Uku Civic Centre
project.
Motion on attempts to tarnish
the image and hard earned reputation of Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of
African Development Bank (AFDB), on trumped-up allegations.
Motion on the invasion of the
Federal High Court Premises Abuja by Men of the Department of State Services,
(DSS).
Motion on the need for the
Federal Government of Nigeria to Place a Ban on the entry of herdsmen from
other African Countries into Nigeria.
Motion on the need to
investigate an SOS call that a Chinese Company in Nigeria has continued to
detain its Nigerian workers since the Lockdown, in flagrant abuse of the FG's
Covid-19 regulations and others.
Motion on the need for the FGN
to urgently intervene in the security breaches along Lokoja/Enugu and
Akwa/Enugu axis
Motion on the need for the FGN
to interface with the management of electricity companies and the national
union of electricity employees (NUEE) to avoid impending electricity
blackout.
Assessing the performance of
Hon. Ndudi Elumelu’s one year of representing the people of Aniocha/Oshimili,
Chief Chibuzor Charles Uwaje, former Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Oshimili South, and grassroots politician said: “Ndudi Elumelu has done
wonderfully well. When you say that somebody has done well, it means that the
person has done what people expected from him.
“Let me start by telling you
about a vibrant man whom I saw in the Chambers talking about the people that he
represents. He is a man that has the empowerment of his people at heart. This
can be attested to in his actions during the Covid-19 Lockdown in Delta State,
where he showed great and passionate concern for the people that he represents.
That alone gave me great joy and satisfaction when you are talking about his
representation of his people in the period under review.
“The Aniocha/Oshimili people are
very pleased with him. Under this period, he has done very well. He shared
rice, beans, garri, money, even above all that, he went on to empower the
people, paying salaries to a good number of persons in each of the wards in the
Federal Constituency every month.
Chief Uwaje continued: “If we
have been having people that have been doing this, the politicians and people
would not have been complaining. By his performance, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu has
made our work as politicians in Delta State as a whole very easy. He has made
the work for PDP as a party in this State very easy for the next election.
“I am talking as an experienced
politician, I have been into this party, I am a grassroots politician from the
scratch to this level I am today. If senior politicians are behaving the way
Hon. Ndudi is behaving, I don’t think our party will lose any election, because
the dividend you give is what you will take. So Hon. Ndudi Elumelu has shown
very good legacy that can carry the party into victory in the next election.
“They said that the end of every
election is the beginning of another election; therefore he has done well for
our great party, PDP in Delta State to the extent that his performance will
surely bring about victory for our party in any election any day any time. His
representation at the House of Representatives is a great plus for our people and
for our great party, the PDP. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu has done well and I urge him
to continue to do more for his people and for the party.
“In his second year,”
Uwaje said, “I appeal to him not to relent in what he has been doing. He should
do more of what he is known for. We are happy and grateful that we elected him
as our representatives.”
Uwaje sees in Ndudi
Elumelu, a politician that is accessible; a politician that doesn’t forget you
after voting for him and winning his elections. He is a man with a lot of
humility, a man with high respect and regard for leaders as well as the people
in general.
“When you have respect for
humans, you give them listening ears. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu is a man that gives
people listening ears, a great servant of the people. He is humble and
calculated,” Chief Uwaje said.
For Chief Felix Nduka Ogwuda,
PDP chairman, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, Ndudi
Elumelu’s representation of Aniocha/Oshimili has been worthwhile. Infact, he
has done what his mates couldn’t do. He has no match in this area and the sky
is his limit,” he said.
Chief Ogwuda further
observed that this is the first time that constituents are paid stipends on a
monthly basis, as nobody has done that before in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal
constituency since the advent of representative democracy, “but that is what
Hon. Elumelu is doing now. He has performed, and he has been performing even
before now; he has no match at all and we are honestly praying for him so that
he will continue to do the best for the people of Aniocha/Oshimili and Delta State
in general.”
Still extolling the virtues of
Hon. Elumelu, the Oshimili North PDP Chairman added: “He has so many projects
lined up, that I am privileged to know. If not for the Covid-19, by now he
would have kick-started them and we know him to be a representative of the
people who does not promise and fail to fulfill his promise. That is the more
reason people stacked out their heads for him. Anytime he calls, people
respond. He is one of the best we have in Delta State and Aniocha/Oshimili
Federal Constituency in particular.”
While noting that farming is the
mainstay of the people of Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency and urging Hon.
Elumelu to ensure that farmers are well taken care of as he enters another year
of representation, Chief Ogwuda appealed to the lawmaker to support them to
improve and enhance their farming capacity and output in the coming farming
season.
“However, let me specially thank
him for the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme that he introduced to our people. I
am happy that they have started calling some people with a view to collecting
the loan facility. It is a great plus to Hon. Ndudi Elumelu,” Ogwuda noted.
He charged Elumelu to keep
doing what he is doing “and bring more development to our constituency. We know
him to be intelligent, anything good and beneficial to our people that he sees
in Abuja, he brings to us,” Ogwuda disclosed.
For the prominent leader in
Aniocha/Oshimili, Chief Nkem Okwuofu, Chairman, Delta State Civil Service
Commission, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu has done creditably well in the sense that in
many ways he has touched the lives of many people within his constituency,
including the fact that he appointed over 240 liaison officers that receive
about N25,000 on monthly basis and they are very happy.
She said: “Within this
period under review, Hon. Elumelu has provided and installed Solar lights for
our people at Ogwashi-uku, he has been able to initiate two different types of
CBN Loan facilities for our people for his Small and medium Entrepreneurial
programme, ranging from N100,000 to N200,000 for the lower grade, and for the
higher grade where you have N5million to N20 million.
“He also organized a
comprehensive training on the programme for our people where forms were
given. I am aware that background work is on for the disbursement of the
fund. He has done well for the people within this period," said the
phenomenal leader, popularly addressed as Mother of Government (MOG).
Chief Okwuofu continued:
“During the covid-19 lockdown not too long ago, he was one of the first to
think strongly about the suffering and welfare of his people; how they are
faring and he did not hesitate at all in sending palliatives worth over N45
million to his people within the Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency. Among
the items were 150 bags of beans, 150 bags of rice, 120 cartons of tomatoes, 50
bags of onions, 75 cartons of groundnut oil, 75 bags of garri were give to each
of the four local government areas in the constituency for distribution to the
very vulnerable in the various communities.
“He has approval already
for the construction of four palaces for four traditional rulers in the
constituency. In many ways, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu has done superbly well and the
people know it and are very happy".
Pointing out that Elumelu’s
local government area, Aniocha North has benefitted from his representation in
so many ways, including a good number of roads rehabilitated for easy
connection and accessibility among the various communities, Chief Okwuofu in
answer to a question said:
“When you want the people
to rejoice, you put somebody who will care for them on the throne and the
people will rejoice. Definitely, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu is one of such and his
people within his constituency are rejoicing. He has done very well.
“I pray for him and urge
him to strive to ensure that he attends to such area he has not attended to;
and I advice him to accomplish all his promises to his people, which he has
already started doing.
"He has done well,
but there is always room for improvement; he should never forget the background
that he came from so that he will continue to have a focus on where he is going
to. Let him carry all his people along in his journey to wherever God is leading
him,” Chief Okwuofu said.
In his own assessment, a
notable leader in Aniocha South Local Government area, Elder Ben Nwadiashe,
former Chairman of PDP in the area, rated Hon. Ndudi Elumelu’s performance in
his first year high, describing him as a true representative of his people.
"Hon. Elumelu is a down to
earth man. When I say down to earth, I mean that he is highly gifted by way of
leadership. He is calm and sees every situation like his own problem. He is
everywhere and knows the problems confronting his people and he is always proffering
solution to them.
“He behaves like the present
Governor of our dear State, His Excellency, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, because
he knows everybody and he is down to earth in dealing with them.
"He has done well and I
must say that the people are happy with his representation; he has not in any
way disappointed us. He is a man that loves and responds to the need of the
downtrodden. He has saved situations here and all that he has been doing are
obvious before the public. He is a leader, a God sent leader who has continued
to use his gift to serve and uplift the people.
"I call on him to do more
by way of touching the lives of the people because they are the ones that make
up and give us the votes. He is a true representative of the people and he is
always at peace with the grassroots, he is a grassroots man and I will want him
to do more for them, let him not relent," Elder Ben Nwadiashe enthused.
No comments:
Post a Comment