Event&Report
By every measure, the young and energetic Speaker, Akwa-Ibom State House of Assembly, Hon. Onofiok Luke, is exceptional. He is particularly very religious. Shola Oyeyipo writes
Going by the political culture in Nigeria, the Speaker, Akwa-Ibom State House of Assembly, Hon Onofiok Luke, is different. He is young, very ordinary, easily accessible, and honest to a fault and above all, extremely rooted in the Christian faith.
These much he exemplified during a constituency thanksgiving service marking his first year anniversary as the number three citizen in the oil rich South-South state held at the Nsit Ubium local government field, Ikot Edibon, Nsit Ubium recently.
Though going by his pedigree as a former student union leader, one of the foremost youth leaders, and a social equality advocate, the lawyer-turned politician who was the pioneer Speaker of the Nigeria Youth Parliament, a national leadership and mentoring platform, one would expect that he is most suitable to be in the assembly but according him, some powers that be had penciled him as one of the lawmakers that were not to return to the sixth Akwa-Ibom Assembly, but for divine intervention, he returned. This was the reason for the show of gratitude to God.
The well attended event attracted many dignitaries including former military and civilian governors, the incumbent governor and his deputy, federal and state lawmakers, Speakers of Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Adamawa, Rivers, Enugu, Ebonyi and Cross River States Houses of Assembly, captains of industries including the executive director, Exxon-Mobil, Mr. Udom Inoyo, expatriates, representative of the late President Umar Yar’ Adua family, Col. Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, a long list of religious and spiritual leaders and other well wishers.
Speaking on why he opted to have the thanks giving, Onofiok said when all hope were lost – when the government of the day decided to edge him out, it was God that intervened on his behalf before he got the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket and that later, the 26-member assembly decided to elect him Speaker.
“First on my protocol list is God. Without him we cannot be here today. He has been our helper. He has been our deliverer. I was not included in government list as member to return to the House. I am here to thank God because God showed himself as God.
“I am not here to complain, I have moved on. Security agencies were mobilised against me during my primaries but God showed that He stays in heaven and rules on the affairs of men. My primary was taken to Mobile Police barrack but God took charge. It was God showing me humility in another way. If God didn’t take me through that I don’t know what would have happened.
“When I was not in the calculations of men for the position of Speaker, it was God that used my colleagues to make me Speaker. A different Speaker had emerged in the morning. There had been congratulatory messages. It was God that turned it around”, he told the gathering.
The high point of the event was the thanksgiving proper where as the Biblical King David, Luke in company with his wife, Mrs. Uduak Luke and mother, threw caution to the wind, laid and rolled on the floor in appreciation to God. He broke protocol when he got down from the stage and danced round the field among the mammoth crowd and his security aides were unable to prevent him from doing so.
His pastor, Senior Pastor, Full Life Christian Centre, Reverend Ntia I Ntia, who said “I can attest to it that he (Luke) is genuinely born again”, described what the Speaker did as a “celebration to point to God as the source of his blessing”, which he said every man must do because “if you don’t do it joyfully, one day you will do it tearfully”.
To crown the thanksgiving, not only did Luke make a donation of N5m for the building of a church auditorium within Nsit Ubiun LGA premises, he also got his friends to contribute towards the project.
It was gathered that till date, Luke is a worker in the Full Life Christian Centre and he still takes time to sweep the church, irrespective of his political status.
He also provided empowerment materials for members of his constituency. Some of the items given out were; 10 mini buses with the support of FEYREP, six salon cars and 10 motorcycles.
In business support scheme, 10 youths and women were provided N100,000 each; N50, 000 worth of trading packs were provided for 10 women; N50, 000 each was provided for 20 women with promising small businesses; N20, 000 each was given 50 women with promising small businesses and N50, 000 was given 20 youths for petty trading.
For skill promotion, 10 sewing machines, 10 vulcanising machines, 10 welding machines, 10 hairdressing equipment with 10 generating sets were given to the people to help boost their businesses and subsequently, their finances.
Aside the above, 100 students were provided with N20, 000 bursary, 10 indigents students got N100, 000 scholarship to run for three years and five Law School students got N100, 000 each. Hundreds of specialised textbooks were provided for five select secondary schools in Nsit Ubium and a set of desktop computers were given to five secondary schools.
Moved by the effort, Governor Udom boosted the empowerment programme when he announced that five persons, including at least two women, in each of the 10 constituent wards in Nsit Ubium LGA would be provided N200, 000 to support their businesses.
Governor Emmanuel Udom who eulogised the good virtues of the Speaker also highlighted the cordial working relationship between the executive and the Luke-led assembly.
He encouraged political office holders to emulate the Speaker’s attitude of remaining close to his constituency, stressing that “Representation is about constituency. All political office holders should identify with your people,” noting that “it would make work easier for the party”.
Talking about the Speaker, Governor Udom Said: “He shares the passion. He is ready to work in the interest of our constituencies. He supports the government in carrying out some projects. For doing good to your people, God will do well to you”.
He also hinted that he and the lawmakers are working hand-in-hand to ensure that poverty is removed among the people through the creation of gainful employment.
“I would have told you some of the things we are working on, he (Luke) is the one telling me to hold on, but by when we unveil what we have in the pipeline; we would create jobs for our people”, Governor Udom told the gathering.
Onofiok, who holds a Bachelor degree in Law from the University of Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State is a graduate of the Nigerian Law School. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, Executive Education programme. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and a 2010 associate fellow of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI). He is passionate about Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), rights advocacy and writing
As a two term member of the Akwa-Ibom State House of Assembly, he has served variously as Chairman of the assembly’s committee on Appropriation and Finance, committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, committee on Judiciary, Justice, Human Rights, and Public Petitions, among others. For three years, he led deliberations on state budget proposals, oversaw the activities of the state’s ministry of finance, probed the fiscal conduct of government, and led the review of the conduct of the State Budget Office.
He spearheaded the introduction of the practice of participatory budgeting in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly in 2012, an effort to ensure a more transparent and people-centred budgeting process in the state.
As chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources committee of the House, Hon. Luke worked with farmers in Akwa-Ibom to initiate laws to give legal backing to sustainable initiatives on farm produce preservation and storage.
Judging by his attitude and acceptability among both old and young, many admirers of Speaker Luke are optimistic that he stands the chance to play more prominent roles in Akwa-Ibom State body polity.
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It was gathered that till date, Luke is a worker in the Full Life Christian Centre and he still takes time to sweep the church, irrespective of his political status
