A member representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadigbo Federal Constituency, Benue State, in the House of Representatives, Francis Ottah Agbo, has pledged to donate his salary for his first four years in office, to his constituents, particularly the poorest of the poor.
Agbo who is the spokesman of the Minority Caucus in the Green Chamber said his gesture was to help alleviate the plight of widows and orphans in the constituent and support the development of his people considering that Enone has been turned into a laughing stock in Nigeria.
While lamenting the alleged abandonment of his constituency by the Federal Government, Ottah Agbo pleaded with the government to address the neglect his constituency in the areas of infrastructure and federal appointments.
The legislator spoke in Abuja on Monday, during an interactive session with a delegation of Ari geo-political zone, comprising Ijigban/Ulayi/Ekile Communities of Ado Local Government Area of Benue State, led by Hon. Emmanuel Ogaba.
Hon. Agbo regretted that, though over one million Ijigban/Ekile/Ulayi people were contributing immensely to the economy of the State, especially in Agriculture, they remained the most neglected, in terms of infrastructure and employment in the state and federal civil service.
“I want to use this medium to tell the world, how marginalised the Enone people and particularly the people of Ulayi, Ekile and Ijigban. I agree with the leader of the delegation who just said that the Nigerian state has forgotten the Ulayi, Ekile and Ijigban Community. I can not agree less! My people are still in darkness.
“These communities are the only ones in the whole of Nigeria, without electricity, roads, water and development of any kind; there is no single person in this community, employed in the Federal civil service, no officer in the Nigerian military, Police, Customs, Immigration, Fire Service, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps”, he decried.
The lawmaker pleaded with the federal government to “intervene” and save the people from “backwardness”.
He commended Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, for appointing an Ijigban son, Mr Sunday Agbaji, as Commissioner for Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC).
The lawmaker assured his guests that he has already lobbied for the inclusion in the 2020 budget, projects in Okpokwu, Ogbadibo and Ado local government areas, including the Rijo-Ekile road, a hospital in Ijigban, hoping that the government of President Buhari will release adequate funding for the projects to be executed.
While counting on the continuous support of the people, Agbo urged the Ari stakeholders to mobilize resources and embark on community projects, stressing that the government alone can not fix everything.
He said the visit of the delegation, will “spur him to do more” for his people.
Agbo who is also the Chairman, Narcotic Drugs Committee, promised to effectively represent the 3 LGAs that make up his Federal Constituency, as he thanked the constituents, for “freely voting me and for the unflinching support so far given me”, pledging not to let the people down.
Earlier, Mr Ogaba, the leader of the delegation, encouraged Hon. Agbo to lobby for the mass employment of his Constituents in the state and federal civil service, especially the security agencies.
Ogaba regretted that “you cannot find a single officer from this locality, either serving or retired or even dead.
“This is in spite of the numerous graduates that have been produced by these communities through their sweat. We, therefore, need deliberate urgent action that will produce officers in the forces from this area”.
