The inauguration of the 7th Enugu State House of Assembly have come and gone but the lawmaker representing the people of Ezeagu in the State House, Hon. Barr. Chima Obieze is leaving no stone unturned in marshalling out the plans he has for his constituents.
Speaking to Journalist101 correspondent after his inauguration on the 10th of June, 2019, Hon. Obieze said he owes it all to the people of Ezeagu for finding him worthy to represent them.
“I thank the people of Ezeagu for finding me worthy to be their voice and representative in the State House of Assembly. Indeed, it is a rare privilege to be the one representing one of the most politically conscious people in ENHA. We have in many ways contributed immensely to the growth of Enugu State and Ezeagu constituency in particular, through people-oriented legislation,” he said.
On his legislative exploits in the 6th Assembly, Hon. Obieze was actively involved in the passage of the Enugu State Child Right law 2016, Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of Enugu State, among many others. He had a very robust contribution in the executive bill known as the Enugu State Health Sector Reform Bill.
Motions and House Resolutions are not left out as he has constantly left an opinion on the stand of Ezeagu people in any issue that comes up on the floor of the House.
Hon. Obieze have sponsored and co-sponsored over 15 motions. Prominent amongst them “the motion urging the federal ministry of works to provide a pedestrian bridge for the people of Ezeagu living by the Enugu Onitsha Expressway” and “the motion urging the Deputy Governors of Enugu and Anambra states to come together and establish the boundary between the people of Ibite Olo in Ezeagu and Oba Ofe Mmiri in Anambra state.
As the Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, his committee conducted positive oversights aimed at increasing productivity, ending waste, ensuring due process and investigating corrupt activities within the ministry.
His midas touch was also made manifest as the Chairman House Committee on Works, Lands, Housing and Urban Development. Obieze and his committee members embarked on a periodic oversight visit of all Local Government Areas in the state, ensuring that quality works are being delivered to the good people of Enugu State in both urban and rural areas, keeping contractors on their toes and ensuring that all construction works are done in accordance with the provisions of the Bill of quality and nothing less.
For the second time in the history of the ENHA, the committee led by Hon. Obieze toured the 17 LGAs in the state successfully, inspecting all ongoing works by the state government in the various local governments.
Speaking on how accessible he is to his constituents, Hon. Obieze said, “I have continued to engage my constituents at different levels to discuss and find solutions to their respective challenges.
“My office in Enugu State House of Assembly (ENHA) remained the most visited office in the complex because my door is always open for any of my constituent that wishes to see me.
“I also have a constituency office at Akama-Oghe which is open every weekdays from 10am to 4pm.”
“We have attracted many MDG projects,” Obieze said while speaking about his constituency projects. The projects he said includes “motorized boreholes, solar streetlights, health centers, etc.
“We have also attracted SUBEB projects which involves the construction of classroom blocks, renovation of existing ones and provision of academic materials for the schools.”
“Youth empowerment is not left out,” he said. “About 78 of our youths were empowered to go into commercial agriculture in different value chains. They were trained for 3 weeks in their respective fields and given grants ranging from 3 to 4 million naira each to set up their farm businesses. These funds were made available via a partnership project (Commercial Agriculture Development Programme, CADP) between Enugu State Government and World bank.
“We have also formed the Ezeagu Young Farmers’ Cooperative to encourage my young constituents to go into Agriculture and to collectively have access to any government assistance on Agriculture.
“We were able to give scholarships to over 50 students from Ezeagu and over 40 percent of this figure is up to university level.
“Like I always say, in Ezeagu, I am not the best neither am I the most educated, I am not the richest nor the wisest but my people have said I should continue to speak with their MANDATE! It is a rare and undeserved gesture. I will give my best to ensure that I justify the confidence my people have reposed on me in the next four years,” he said.
On what to expect going further, Obieze said he will assure his constituents of a more “robust representation.”
“I will pursue vigorously, a bill for the review of the tenancy law of Enugu State. This bill will be before the 7th assembly in the nearest possible time and many more people oriented bills that will transform the lives of our people with keen interest on bills that will aid job creation and youth empowerment will be presented to the 7th Assembly” he assured.
