It is a big shame, mind-boggling, and terribly unimaginable, that until 2019, Abia North constituency never had a good Senator representing her in the Senate. It has been from one English-speaking Senator to another, who does not care about the welfare of the people they represent in the Senate.
Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, having spent 12 good years in the National Assembly, wasted his tenure on frivolities, which turned out to be a total disgrace and embarrassment to the people of Abia North. He spent eight years in House of Representing and four years in the Senate.
While in National Assembly he was a colossal failure. There was no single infrastructural development, human capital development, or social investment program. All he was able to do was empowerment and a frying pan at that.
He lacks the capacity needed of a legislator. A senator who can fight and bring dividends of democracy to the people who voted him into office.
While in Senate, Mao was the Chairman of, the Senate Committee on Primary Health Care and Communicable Diseases, Mao never thought it wise to influence one primary health care center, to be sited anywhere within Abia North or even South East. He converted all the constituency projects meant for Abia North to personal cash. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is still investigating the diversion of his constituency projects.
Mao’s action of empowering his constituents with Frying Pan was reported as the most insensitive and inhuman empowerment in Nigeria. He got the backlash of his life when Nigerians descended on him for mocking his senatorial zone.
In 2019, he was voted out and it didn’t take him a few months to fizzle out. He has resurfaced again to run for senate and it sounds more like a joke than reality. His hometown Arochukwu has warned him not to waste his time in politics anymore as they wouldn’t support him or any of his lineage. Mao was clearly told that he wasted the previous opportunity that was given to him for 12 years.
Other communities in Abia North have equally displayed their dissatisfaction with Mao, for having the effrontery to run for Senate in Abia North again, having performed abysmally and despicably below the unit of measuring performance and competence.
Until Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK) became a senator in 2019, people never knew that a Senator could touch and give the lives of the constituents a meaning. In the three years, Kalu has represented Abia North, he has built more than 63 rural roads, built and reconstructed schools, built hospitals, empowered several Abians, and supported more than 40 life-turning bills in the Senate. OUK opened the People’s eyes to good and quality representation and they’re fully satisfied with his unbeatable and uncommon performance in his first tenure.
Mao Ohuabunwa should take proper cognizance that, the people are wiser and are more interested in voting for action and performance than mere frying pan constituency project senator. In the past, he has never won an election; he only writes results with support of thugs. With the new amended electoral act passed by the 9th assembly. It is impossible for people like Mao Ohuabunwa to win House of Assembly seat.
For attracting only frying pans as constituency projects in a 21st century, when the federal government budgeted billions for quarterly projects to all the 109 Senators, history will remember Mao Ohuabunwa as the most shameless, insensitive, and corrupt senator.
Jonas Okorie writes from Arochukwu.
