From Obinna Odogwu,
The people of Awka North and South local government areas of Anambra State will not forget in haste June 10, 2016.
It was the day the member representing them at the Federal House of Representatives, Chief Anayo Nnebe brought home dividends of democracy to them.
On that appointed Friday, people from the two council areas of the state comprising 19 communities converged on St. Paul’s Anglican Church premises, Umuokpu village, Awka for the lawmaker’s distribution of his 2015/2016 Constituency Project Materials/Empowerment Scheme to his people.
At about 10:00a.m, the venue of the occasion was already boisterous as hundreds of members of the constituents from far and near, especially the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) faithful had arrived at the premises.
Some of them were also observed to be sitting quietly with their eyes gleefully inspecting the series of items lined up at the centre of the venue for onward distribution to the beneficiaries.
The items included: 11 motorcycles, 40 sewing machines, 10 generators, 10 Keke NAPEP, one Toyota security van, one NISSAN commuter bus, two tractors (Plough) and five grinding machines.
Declaring the event open, the Chairman on the occasion, Senator (Dr) Ben Ndi Obi, disclosed that they, the constituents, had gathered at the instance of the federal lawmaker for the distribution of his 2015/2016 constituency project materials as well as his empowerment scheme to the people.
Obi who rated the lawmaker high recalled that the majority of the people of Awka North and South had voted him last year to represent them at the lower legislative chamber given his track record in office while he held sway as the representative of Awka South 1 Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly in addition to his then position as the Speaker of the same legislature.
“It was based on his track records that we massively voted for him to represent us at the House of Representatives. And as we can see he is representing us very well,” he said.
Obi noted that the occasion would also afford all and sundry the opportunity to assess their representative’s one year in office with a view to appending some score to his leadership.
While distributing the items to their beneficiaries, the legislator, Chief Nnebe, said he was moved to take the bold step because of the glaring compelling need to do so.
“From the onset, I have always had feeling for people. I happened to come from a very poor family background. So, I know how it feels to be poor; I know how it feels to suffer; I know what it means to be deprived. So, at every point in my life that opportunity comes, I always ensure that I use that opportunity maximally for service to humanity.
“When I was the Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, we introduced this issue of constituency project. Government makes money available to the legislators for direct impacts activities on constituents. That is what is called constituency projects. You execute them in your constituency so that your constituents can benefit directly from them.
“At the federal level, there is provision for constituency projects. Each parliamentarian is supposed to utilize the fund for the interest of his constituents. I have just utilized mine for the year 2015/2016,” ” he explained.
Nnebe noted that apart from the constituency project, he has sponsored some useful bills and motions in the lower chamber, some of which executions by the executive arm are already yielding benefits to the country.
Also speaking, the former governor of Anambra State, Chief Peter Obi, commended the lawmaker for representing his people well.
“You could see the difference. When you have a representative that knows what representation is all about, because when you have a representative like Anayo Nnebe who knows what he is supposed to do in order to attract benefits to his people, it makes all the difference. Look at what happened here today where you have a House of Representatives member distributing brand new vehicles, including buses, tractors for agriculture, Keke NAPEP, sowing machines, etc; for poverty alleviation. It made all the difference that has never been made in this federal constituency,” Obi said, adding that “this is happening because he is one elected on the platform of a major party where he has footings in the major committees in the House and he was able to build his own support base and everything. You could see the difference.”
Two of the beneficiaries, Mrs Catherine Nwabufo from Awba-Ofemmili ward in Awka North and Mrs Mary Nwoye from Nibo ward 1 in Awka South thanked the lawmaker for his kind gestures. The duo got one sewing machine each.
The event was attended by traditional rulers and president generals from the two local government areas, party leaders and clergymen, among others.