The lone PDP Southeast voice in the Senate

The burdens of Osita Ngwu, a lone PDP voice from the Southeast in the Senate arm of 10th National Assembly.

The new Senator representing Enugu West, Mr. Osita Ngwu, carries many burdens on his shoulders. The engineer is stepping into the shoes of Ike Ekweremadu who represented the zone for 20 years. Incredibly, he is also the only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator elected from the entire southeast region.

At a reception in Enugu last week, however, the freshman senator appears ready to shoulder his burdens. He told guests at his popular Enugu The Base Events Centre that he will give the job his best shot.

Ngwu is entering the Senate as a freshman. Accordingly, he will need to fight and negotiate hard to enjoy privileges for himself, his party, and his constituency. His matter is not helped that the the ruling APC controls the chamber. He however shows a keen understanding of the burdens as he touched on each of them at the reception.

Ekweremadu factor

On Ekweremadu, he promised to continue with his good works even as he expressed sympathy with his current ordeal.

“I have promised that when the Senate reconvenes, I will say whatever that will represent the interest of Enugu West. Enugu West has not really lacked in terms of development. This is because we had Ike Ekweremadu who represented us for 20 years. Unfortunately, he is not here with us because of the issues of life. But we pray for him that one day, he will join us and rejoice with us.”

He promised that he will work hard to meet the expectations of his Enugu West constituents. And he thanked them for electing him against formidable odds posed by the resurgent Labour Party. He hosted a reception in Abuja after he was inducted into the National Assembly as a Senator. He however said he saw the need to do another in Enugu “where the vote came from.”

“I thank you and appreciate you from the depth of my heart. This appreciation will not end today; it will continue. I want to appreciate you because you made me to be here today. One thing for sure is that I will not disappoint you.

How we won

His speech also gave an insight into how he won the election. According to him, he was forced to visit about 81 political Wards in the district for campaigns.

“In fact, we were at some wards more than thrice. We went to drive our message to the people, to show a reason to believe us and vote for us.”

Senator Ngwu said his election was not a matter of luck, as some insinuated. Rather, this was a loud statement of support for him by the people of Enugu West Senatorial District. Accordingly, he promised to show his gratitude in practical ways.

He assured that in him, Enugu West constituents now have a dependable ally. He will be “a friend, brother, colleague and one you can relate with as a senator,” he said.

“I have not been in the senatorial seat for two weeks, but one thing I can tell you. When the senate reconvenes, my voice will be heard, loud and clear.”

His Priorities

He outlined four things that he will prioritize as Senator representing Enugu West:

• Establish an annual scholarship programme for those desiring tertiary education. “We may not give everybody from Enugu West scholarship. But we will give enough to people who can’t afford to go to school.”
• Institute a town hall meeting to brief his constituents. The townhall will be about “what I have seen, what I will do and where we are heading to.”
• Set up offices in the five local government areas that constitute Enugu West District to be close to the people. He will appoint liaison officers to manage the offices. And their jobs are to gather feedbacks and send weekly reports that enable him to constantly engage with his constituents.
• Build capacity in rural communities and evenly spread constituency projects. He promised to optimize the projects so that all towns will enjoy them. “We will give people what they want and not what we want.”