….As Senator Ned Nwoko’s Vibrancy, Profile In The Red Chamber Soars

By Fred Odu

Senator Ned Nwoko, has, in the past one year and five months at the Senate, justified that his victory in the February 25, 2023 National Assembly election to represent the Delta North senatorial district was not in error.

His vibrancy and profile in the Red Chamber have continued to soar to the delight of not only the people of Delta North who freely gave him their mandate, but also other individuals and groups, including the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), the umbrella body of all the registered political parties in the country, Delta State chapter.

The Coalition, comprising mostly of opposition political parties, in a recent statement signed by its spokesperson, Prince Henry Eze, described Senator Ned Nwoko’s 17 months at the Senate as a good example of robust stewardship.

Delta CUPP said it had been following up on the activities of the Senator since 2018, pointing out that the organisation had first prevailed on him to run for the Senate in 2019 in a full page, self sponsored Vanguard Newspaper Advertorial.

The organisation stated that in 2023 when Nwoko again contested for the same position, it played a supportive role because it was obvious that someone of his calibre was needed to step into the big shoes vacated by Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa in 2015.

It viewed the two term senatorial stint of the immediate past Senator that represented the Delta North Senatorial District, Barr Peter Nwaoboshi, as lack lustre.

“It is flowing from all the above that CUPP has opted to evaluate the performance of Senator Ned Nwoko, who, in the past one year, has churned out several landmark bills and motions. Some of the motions have been sponsored on the floor of the Senate, while others have been submitted for consideration and listing.

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“The motions adopted are:

(1) Need to investigate the incessant and nefarious acts of crude oil thefts in the Niger Delta and its actors

(2) Urgent need to fortify security, tackle surge of kidnappings in the FCT, Nigeria

(3) Need to address the unexplained delay in electrifying step down of Okpai Independent Power Plant

“Those submitted for consideration and listing border on the:

(1) Urgent need for African nations to attain veto power at the United Nations Security Council

(2) Need to redress healing and reconciliation for the grievous 1967 Asaba Massacre

(3) Need to demand reparations for historical injustices and mitigation of neocolonialism in Nigeria, African nations.

(4) Urgent need to stop gas flaring and enforce anti- gas flaring regulations in Ndokwa land and the Niger Delta region

(5) Need for the establishment of social media platform offices in Nigeria for economic advancement and efficient dispute resolution

(6) Need to upgrade all Federal Medical Centres in Nigeria to international standards and for all public servants to seek medical treatment exclusively within Nigerian health care facilities

(7) Urgent need for a national dialogue with separatist groups in Nigeria to genuinely and amicably resolve all issues

(8) Compelling need to ban importation of all essential goods and consume locally producible items in Nigeria

(9) Need to address the unexplained delay of electricity supply in Ndokwa land and step down of Okpai Independent Power Plant, among others.

“The Senator has also sponsored some bills on the floor of the Senate while some others have been listed

“They include::

(1) Bill for the Creation of Anioma State (passed first reading)

(2) Bill for the conversion of the Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba to a Federal University of Technology (passed second reading)

(3) Bill for an Act To Allow One Month Rent Limitation and Establishment of a Landlord Registry.

(4) Electoral Courts Establishment and Jurisdiction Bill

(5) A Bill for an Act to Establish Waste Management and Malaria Eradication Agency (Passed first reading)

(6) A Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Grant Program with an Agency for Oversight (listed)

(7) Compulsory Professional Indemnity Bill

(8) Cashless Asset Acquisition Bill

(9) A bill for an Act to alter the Firearms (as altered) to provide for Self Defence and personal Firearm Ownership and for related matters (passed first reading)

(10) A Bill for an Acf to Repeal the Coroners Act CAP C17 laws of the Federal 2004 and Re-Enact of the Coroners Systems Act and other Related Matters 2023

(11) A Bill for an Act to alter the 1999 constitution(as altered) to provide for Diaspora Voting and for related matters(Listed)

(10) A Bill for an Act to Establish laws governing the Election of Nigerians into the ECOWAS Parliament, among others.

CUPP noted that the above bills and motions, which covered virtually every aspect of our national life had earned Senator Ned Nwoko the title of SUPER SENATOR, adding that some of the bills and motions had formed part of national discourse in recent times.

“For instance ,Senator Ned Nwoko’s advocacy for social media organizations to open offices in Nigeria has gained nationwide appeal as some media organizations such as Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram,TikTok, WhatsApp ,YouTube, Snapchat and many more have been doing profitable business in Nigeria without paying tax to the country.

“Senator Nwoko’s advocacy on the regulated use of firearms has also become one of the popular debates in Nigeria.

Other bills and motions which have become very popular amongst Nigerians are the ones on one month regulatory rent, the advocacy that Nigeria should take steps toward revaluing the Naira, as well as his campaign for talented persons who have committed some form of misdemeanor to be called upon to improve on our local technology instead of being criminalized.

“Senator Nwoko was perhaps alluding to the incident of the Onicha Olona arm factory where an entire family was arrested over an ”illegal arms factory“ which has successfully modified the AK 47 to allow for its magazine
to accommodate 60 rounds of ammunition instead of the usual 30 rounds.

“The arms factory also is noted to produce 10 guns a week at a time when the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) is struggling to manufacture arms locally.

“Senator Nwoko may also have alluded to the destruction of so called illegal refineries in the Niger Delta, rather than harness their ingenious potentials to achieve local refining capacity that can lead to establishment of modular refineries in the country”.

The Coalition stated that Delta North senatorial district had felt the impact of Senator Ned Nwoko’s superlative representation, citing his stepped up oversight on the Okpai IPP project to ensure its early completion.

“Worried over the delay in electricity distribution to Delta North from the Okpai plant and the stalled 132KV transmission line project, the Senator recently paid a visit to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu and the Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to get the requisite answers regarding the Okpai electricity project.

“Senator Nwoko has also followed up strongly on the early completion of the Ogwashi Uku dam which started long ago but has suffered several setbacks.The proactive Senator has vowed to see to its completion within his first tenure in the Senate.

“It is also gratifying that the Senator has facilitated another dam at Idumuje Ugboko, a project that has been admitted into the 2024 National budget

“The Senator has fashioned out some entrepreneurial schemes to empower his constituents, with some already done while others are on the drawing board. His elated constituents thronged his town hall meeting on the 3rd of May, 2024, to hear first hand the account of his stewardship to the Delta North people.

“The occasion also was marked by the launching of his state-of-the-art campaign office in Asaba”.

CUPP scored Senator Ned Nwoko high as a lawmaker representing Delta North in the Red Chamber for his iconic oversight functions.

The organisation noted that as the only Delta State PDP Senator, Nwoko had upped the template for effective leadership and representation and the Coalition was full of admiration for the Senator when he collaborated with his counterparts of Delta Central and Delta South to effect the release of the traditional ruler of Ewu Kingdom, HRM Clement Ikolo, following his arrest by the military over the killing of 16 soldiers at Okuama in Ughelli South

The group urged Senator Nwoko to be unrelenting in his mandate as his name would be written in gold in the political history of Delta North senatorial district.