The people of Idemili North and South Federal Coonstituency in Anambra State have received a boost as their representative in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chiwendu Odedo, gave them vehicles, motorcycles and other items.
With songs of praise and thanksgiving, the beneficiaries of the scheme in their hundreds prayed for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) lawmaker who they described as a God sent to liberate them from poverty.
They acknowledged that Odedo has since 2007 that he joined the lower chamber of the National Assembly, embarked on poverty alleviation schemes, although none has been as massive as the current one as no fewer than 100 vehicles including L300 buses and Toyota Camry, as well as Daylong motorcycles, sewing and grinding machines among other gift items were given to the people for their financial independence.
Odedo who said he dumped the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) because of the poor leadership style, commended his people for entrusting confidence in him.
He said: “I was motivated to embark on this poverty alleviation programme because of the role my people played during my election and re-election to the National Assembly. I promised to adequately represent your interest if elected into the Assembly and I will not relent in doing so.
“I believe in human empowerment because it is more important than any
other thing. If we as leaders give the people reasons to believe in this country by ensuring their financial independence, then a bulk of their security challenges we witness will drastically reduce.
“Nigeria is decaying, the roads are bad, and the hospitals are not working fine. The most terrible thing to lose is the mind. So I believe that people should be empowered alongside with the development of the infrastructure, in terms of education, in terms of training them, helping them with jobs, assisting them with cash to expand their businesses and other means that would alleviate poverty in their lives.
“I was assisting my people even before I joined politics and I always feel relief each time I notice that my small contribution has added life to the family that got it because by empowering that person, if he or she is diligent, then the multiplier effect will rob off on his or her relations.
“So the benefit of human empowerment is what I have seen even before I joined politics and decided to stick with it. That is why I do empowerment programmes on yearly basis. I am happy that most of the people who have benefitted from the programme are feeding their families and even their extended families.”
Odedo who attributed the lack of efficient power supply as the major cause of unemployment in the country said many people would have established small enterprises but for the lack of electricity.
“That is why when I empower hair dressers, tailors, and even woman who grind food stuffs in the market, I usually include small generators for them. I support the view of most Nigerians that stable electricity was necessary for entrepreneurship to strive in the country.”
While acknowledging that government alone cannot take Nigeria to the Promised Land, Odedo said the private sector has an enormous role to play to ensure that more Nigerians are engaged.
“I think the government should concentrate effort in providing enabling environment for business to progress by so doing, the private sector will expand and more job opportunities will be created,” the Lawmaker said.
A beneficiary, Mr. Okechukwu Nwoye, who got an L300 bus told The Nation that Odedo has been assisted the people since his return from the United States adding that the people insisted he must represent them when he indicated interest in politics.
“He has been helping us, he gave our children scholarship, empowers the widows and the less privileged persons. Then, since 2008, Odedo every Christmas and New Year celebration distributes over 200 bags of rice, cartons of tomatoes and cash gifts.
“Odedo promised to attract projects in all the 17 communities in Idemili North and South Federal
Constituency before his election and today it has become a reality. He constructed classrooms with modern toilet at Akwa Ukwu and Awka Etiti. He also gave us 500KVA transformer and a skill acquisition centre at Nnobi, among other things.
“What we are enjoying today is the reward of a good work. We stood for Odedo during his elections. We voted for him and ensured that our votes were not rigged because we knew he has our interest at heart. Odedo will continue to represent us.”
