Leadnaija
Saturday, 4th January 2025, the Senator representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone and Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, Senator Engr Kenneth Chukwuemeka Eze, held a thanksgiving service and empowerment programme for the people of his district.
The event was held at his country home, Ohigbo Amagu in Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and the turnout was highly impressive, in the outreach adjudged as the highest in the history of that district by any lawmaker in terms of impact in the lives of the people Read more>>
Though, the event may have come and gone, but echoes of the event still reverberate. Tongues are still wagging amongst the people of the district and beyond, concerning the unprecedented and massive empowerment programme.
For many constituents and political pundits, it was undoubtedly the highest empowerment programme by any lawmaker in the history of representation in the zone.
Due to the magnitude of the empowerment coming from a first term Senator, some nay sayers who couldn’t believe what their eyes saw, even concluded that the empowerment items were hired, to be returned to owners after the event. They couldn’t understand how a first term Senator could muster such capacity. Something no ranking senator that represented the zone in the past ever did. But the Senator proved them wrong after all, as he shared all the items to the least person.
Some of the items distributed by Senator Eze during the event include: 14 Mini Buses, 2 Toyota Sienna Cars, 4 Toyota Corolla Cars, 100 Motorcycles, 40 Tricycles, 100 Grounding Machines, 100 Sewing Machines,150 Spraying Machines, 14 Big Freezers and 12 Laptops for Students.
Others are: 10,000 bags of 5kg rice, 100 bags of 25kg rice, 50 bags of 50kg rice, 2000 bags of fertilizer and 100 cartons of liquid fertilizer and thousands of exercise books for schools across the zone.
These were a few of the items on ground during the event. The Senator had explained that there were a little challenge transporting the items from where they were procured to his hometown, ahead of the event; and assured that the rest of the empowerment items would still arrive and accordingly distributed evenly to the people that deserved them across the zone.
The event was witnessed by who is who within the zone, Ebonyi State and beyond, including the State Governor, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru
Bishop of Abakaliki Catholic diocese, Most Reverend Father Peter Nworie Chukwu who officiated the church service could not hide his feelings about the sterling performance of Senator Eze and his empowerment initiative.
In his sermon, Bishop Chukwu, charged those in authority to always remember the people, especially the less privileged, and commended Senator Eze for offering good and quality representation to the people of the zone.
In the words of Bishop Chukwu, “only Senator Eze and Hon Chinedu Ogah, are the lawmakers from the zone and that have shown impactful representation.” He, however, charged others to emulate the duo.
For the Senate Minority Deputy Chief Whip, and Senator representing Ebonyi North zone, Senator Barrister Onyekachi Nwebonyi, who was among the dignitaries that graced the occasion, it was a great moment for the people of Ebonyi Central zone to have Engr Eze as their representative at the red chamber, maintaining that he has performed creditably well and even surpassed the achievements of his predecessors. He urged the people of Ebonyi Central zone to support Senator Eze and re-elect him, to consolidate on his achievements.
Other stakeholders who spoke during the event including the Member representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency, Hon Chinedu Ogah; the State Chairman of APC, Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha; former member of House of representatives, Hon Lazarus Ogbee; and the Retired Chief Judge of the State High Court, Justice Aloy Nwankwo, were also unanimous in commending Senator Eze for offering quality representation to the people of Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone.
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru in his remarks lauded the sterling performance of Senator Eze, whom he said, has achieved a lot even as a first timer in the Senate. The Governor noted that all Members of the National Assembly from Ebonyi State are performing exceptionally well, saying, it was the first time, all National Assembly members from the State are doing fantastically well, especially in human empowerment, infrastructure development and good relationship with the people. He also praised the cooperation and unity that exist among the lawmakers despite party differences, describing it as the first of its kind.
“At this particular point in time, God blessed Ebonyi State with good leaders at the National Assembly. For the first time, all our National Assembly members are doing exceptionally well in the area of Human empowerment, infrastructure development and good relationship with the people. Most importantly, the cooperation and unity that exist among them, despite the fact that they are in different political parties. They don’t have time to gossip”
“They are doing very well and we have nothing against them. And as a leader of the party, I will not be the one to start generating crises in my house and I won’t be ready to fund the crisis in my house”, the Governor said.
He urged those warming up to replace the lawmakers in the next election to wait, as he would not be a party to stopping any of the lawmakers from going back in 2027, except the person is using his hand to stop himself.
“So, you need to wait. If God says that any of the National Assembly members will not go back, it’s not going to be your making. Anybody that God doesn’t want back, God will package it in such a way that none of us will be blamed, because, I don’t want to be blamed. I won’t reject going for a second tenure, so I won’t stop any other person from going for a second tenure”, Governor Nwifuru concluded.
A beneficiary of the empowerment programme, Mrs. Oge Umunna told our reporter that the Senator has brought hope back to the people including herself, stressing that the economic situation of the country has not been friendly at all but with the kind gesture extended to them by the lawmaker, hope has been restored.
Senator Kenneth Eze who is also the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources, in his address, said he initiated the empowerment programme to complement the efforts of the Governor who he said had rolled out so many empowerment programmes for the people of Ebonyi State since he assumed office.
Usually, empowerment of this nature always lands in the hands of political cronies, but Senator Eze ensured that it was distributed to those who really needed them, across the wards that make up the zone. Some of the constituents who benefitted, were even surprised how the Senator was able to identify them for the gesture.
Beyond the echoes of this empowerment, Senator Eze has also proven himself as a worthy representative in all ramifications. In less than two years, he has facilitated employment of over fifty youths of his district into Federal Civil Service, constructed classrooms blocks in many schools, installed and still installing solar street lights in some parts of the zone, and awarded scholarships to many students. He facilitated the construction of roads in some parts of the constituency, sponsored free medical outreach that benefitted over 20,000 persons, among other achievements and critical interventions.
He has also shown capacity in legislative business despite being a first timer. As the Chairman Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, Senator Engr Eze has proven to be a rare breed and a versatile personality, through several positive interventions he has brought to the Media Industry.
He is a vocal and dependable voice in the Senate, and has so many bills and motions to his credit, including the bill for the establishment of Federal Polytechnic, Onueke, which has gone through public hearing, awaiting Senate passage.
Senator Eze’s new appointment as Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on South-East Development Commission, as well as his position as Treasurer, South-East Senator’s Forum, has further reaffirmed that he’s not just a beacon of hope for the people of Ebonyi Central and Ezza clan in particular, but has been placed as a major player in the politics of the South-East zone and beyond. What he needs now from the people of Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone to continue to explore new grounds and bring forth dividends of democracy to their door steps, according to political analysts, is their unalloyed support and solidarity at all times.
