Ndoma Egba
By Dianabasi Effiong
Recently, the Senate Leader, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba undertook a visit to some of the projects he attracted to his constituency comprising six local government areas in the Central Senatorial District of Cross River.
The projects included drainage and erosion control; water schemes; library complex and ICT centres; the140-hectare Buya-Kakwagom (Kuan Dam); a 200-bed specialist hospital; health centres; classroom blocks; hand pump boreholes; roads; Police stations; and Law Faculty building at the University of Calabar.The projects, which Ndoma-Egba said are worth about N7 billion, are spread across Abi; Yakurr; Obubra; Ikom; Boki; and Etung, the six Local Government areas in his constituency, as well as Calabar in the Southern senatorial district of Cross River.
He said that he was worried by the level of infrastructure development challenges in his constituency and decided to bring the projects to those communities. The senator said that he had attracted no fewer than 49 constituency projects to the area and sponsored no less than 39 bills including the Freedom of Information Bill which is now an Act of the National Assembly. He said these were outside the Executive bills and “quite a number of motions in the senate”.
According to the senator the projects funded through the Federal Budgets and facilitated by him from 2007 to date are categorised as infrastructure, water, health, roads, education and environmental sectors and cited in his Senatorial district.
He also commended the quality of projects by the contractors: ” the quality of job is good. Do not forget that I have been a former commissioner of works. The moment I see a project and if I am not satisfied I begin by making my observations about it.
He said most communities in his constituency which have problems of portable water had benefitted from his intervention projects. Ndoma-Egba said the communities included Idomi, Apiapum, Ediba, Mpkani, Ogada, Akam, Akparabong which never had portable water for years.
“I am looking forward to the time every community in central has portable water and we have paid particular attention to schools. I have a blue print for my people and will partner with the state government to realise it.
Some residents of beneficiary communities said the projects were unprecedented, commended Ndoma-Egba for coming to their aid and also promised to support him in his 4th term senatorial ambition.
Mr Jones Tangban, one-time member representing Etung-Ikom Federal Constituency and also the Director-General of Senator Ndoma-Egba 2015 mandate said: “When we set out for inspections it was to douse the very many stories that made the rounds that the senator was not performing. This is an eye-opener to our people, to our supporters. It is not all about giving people money, it is about projects, it is about representation, it is about capacity. Our impression is that it is a wonderful representation and sufficient capacity well-discharged. We are proud to have him as our senator.
Dr Patrick Nkang Abang, a former university lecturer for 35 years and retired lecturer said: “I have been with the senator Ndoma-Egba machine for 10 to 15 years now and all along I have heard of projects but my imagination have not gone near to what I am seeing. I judge senator Ndoma-egba from his contribution at the Federal level. The major thing we sent him there to do is to go and represent us and we see that he has done an excellent job.
“Beyond that something had to be done to raise the quality of life of our people and the project that I have seen I never imagined that they were there at all. Our people can judge for themselves so no amount of lies from now on can hold water because these things are self-evident and I am delighted and wish the senator more years of service to our people.
“I was in the United States for about 18 years and I saw a senator who served for almost 100 years. He died three months after retirement. Those are the senators when you talk about law, he is the law, and Presidents respect them because he has been long there. But in our situation it is different. We keep learning the process of law. We wish that Ndoma-Egba goes back to the senate.
Mr Victor Abang, Special Assistant, Public Affairs, Office of the President of the Senate, David Mark said: “I am from Boki and have been privileged to see these projects on paper but this tour is very revealing and an eye opener and had gone further to douse the rumour and lies before now.
“Principally the job of the legislator is to make laws but Ndoma-Egba we have seen that he is doing even more than some people who are in the executive. He uses his position as senate leader to attract lots of benefit to our people.
Mr Jonas Otu, former Chairman, Boki Local Government Area of Cross River, also said: “Ndoma-Egba has done very well, we have not seen these gigantic projects before. The dam project in Kakwagom will touch the life of every Boki man here.
Mr Egbe Jabengo, from Obubra local government said: “I am one of the founders of the PDP. From what the senate leader is doing he should be appreciated. He should be given another term at the senate. I am proud of him. As far as Obubra is concerned I do not have any doubt about his capabilities.
Egbe Jerome, a former President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) who is also from Abi Local Government said: “Abi people have been ardent supporters of distinguished senate leader. We have discovered that he has what it takes to liberate not only Abi people but the entire cross river people. The shoe he wears suits him perfectly.
“From what I have seen on ground today the man has performed so creditably. If a man is doing well he should be given an opportunity to go back and consolidate. For him to attract this gigantic Law Faculty project worth about N349 million to the University of Calabar shows the kind of mind he is. He is not selfish leader.
Engr. Eyo Itam Eyo, Director of Physical Planning, University of Calabar also expressed his opinion about the projects: “The concept of the Law Faculty project is that of the senate leader who put it in the budget after being approached by the alumni of this university in 2012. That year the project also commenced in earnest. This is just the first phase of the project, three storey building. At the level that it is now it is about 60 per cent completed and we hope that within the next six month this phase will be completed.
“For a man to be magnanimous to come and site this outside his constituency is very hard warming. The university community feels great. We extend the appreciation of the Vice Chancellor on behalf of the Council, the senate and the entire university community to the senate leader for what he has done.
“This faculty has been in existence for the past 30 years without its own building and so for somebody to come and site his constituency project, that should have been in the central senatorial district, in the southern senatorial district is magnificent.
But the senate leader said similar project is sited at the University of Lagos where he got his first degree in Law before proceeding to Calabar for his LLM.
Engr. Solomon Yakubu, who also supervises the dam project at Kakwagom said: “The total land area covered by this project, including the reservoir, is 140 hectares. There is a river here, what the project is going to do is to block this river, keep part of the water that water that is kept back during the dry season you now use that water for other supply, for irrigation, when the rainy season come whatever had been taken will be refilled and whatever is excess will flow naturally as it used to Aya River.
“The water that flows here every year is more than 50 million cubic metres, what we are keeping back is only 4.5 million cubic metres. We are not distorting the flow of this river. Work is 45 per cent completed; we still have major work to do on the concrete compartment and on the River crossing.
“By next rainy season and with steady financial backing what may be left is the finishing touch. The contract sum is N747.9 million as at 2008. We intend to complete this project before the end of this year. We will require some variations.
The senator was elated at the dam project and the state of work there: “ Ours is to do everything humanly possible to ensure that the project is funded and hope that with what we should be able to complete the project this year so that the people of the catchment community can begin to derive the benefits for which the project is intended. This is one of my biggest projects apart from the major roads like the trans-African Highway, the Calabar-Oban-Nsan roads. This dam is a regional project because it is going to serve a cluster of communities.
He also offered insights as to what informed the siting of his constituency projects: “For us to be able to attract this project to Cross River we first of all established the need, and also establish that an agency of government, the Cross River Basin development authority had done a study and already had a design. So it was easy for me to push at that point and attract the necessary funding and the necessary appropriation for it. I know the impact that this project when completed will make on this part of the world. He said that.
Ndoma-Egba said communal conflicts could be resolved by taking development to the people: “I think that one of the best ways to resolve this issue (communal clashes) is to take development to those communities and its people believing that when they begin to see substantial development and improvements, their lives will have more meaning.
“They will be less prone to wasting lives that can be enjoyed. Push more development to the rural areas hoping that such will engender peace,’’ the senate leader said.
He also stated why he is bringing development projects to his constituents: “When we intervene in water it is essentially to address the water needs of the people and also to address their health concerns because a healthy community is a productive community.
“That is one of the reasons why we I have intervened massively in health. We have also intervened in education sector; we have a lot of interventions in schools. We also have environmental projects.
“My constituency is prone to environmental hazards, especially flooding, erosions and you will see quite a number of projects trying to control the menace of erosions.
“Most of them are constituency projects; they are funded by the federal government’s budget but facilitated by me. They are quite many.
“I have intervened in the health sector; the Specialist Hospital in Ikom is under construction as well as the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ikom Road and I think that there are quite a lot of excitements by beneficiaries of these interventions”, he said.
At Mfum, a border community between Nigeria and Cameroun Republic said it was important that the African Development Bank (ADB), international communities and the Nigerian government “speed up the completion of the multi-billion highway”.
According to available literature already the 10,269 km Lagos-Mombasa, eastern half of the highway, has been completed through Kenya and Uganda. A major section of the road in Nigeria, the 240km stretch from Enugu-Bansara-Mfum border with Cameroon is ready and in use.
Ndoma-Egba said that he started lobbying for the project with the support from some of his colleagues and relevant ministries since his first term in office.
He said: “We would like to see this project completed soon to facilitate African integration and international trade. The project is supposed to go to up to Mombasa in Kenya, so I am not in a position to tell you that because I don’t know what is going on at the other end.
“From the point here where we are, it is completed and it was in several hundreds of millions of dollars. It is an ADB project while part of it is done by the World Bank. It is an international road done to the World Bank standard and I believe it is built to endure even though we have maintenance programme for it.”
“It took lots of efforts and persistence and it started from my first term going to the Federal Minister of Works, seeing virtually every minister, liaising with ADB officials as well as foreign embassy officials. So, it was plenty of work.”
“We also got lots of support from my colleague in the Enugu end. Since we cannot solely rely on water transportation, many people depend on road transport for movement even with business transactions. So to that extent, the road is quite significant for the movement of goods and we appeal for its urgent completion.
The senator’s constituents commended him for the N286 million Ajassor road he facilitated as they took delivery of the 4.5km road.
“For years, the community had suffered but with the intervention; this is a blessing for us as we can now move freely with our farm products,” one of the community leaders, Chief Agbor Ndoma said.
Ndoma-Egba also advised Usumutong and Ediba communities which residents fought over disputed farmland in Cross River to live in peace with one another. He also donated food items to the affected communities to alleviate the hardship brought about by the crisis.
The senator also stated that it is necessary to redefine empowerment and political representation to add value to peoples’ lives.
“Representation is not only about giving people a voice but also about adding value to their lives, improvements of their welfare and livelihood. Through these we are trying to change the paradigm of representation,” he said.
admin
