Ohuabunwa Asks Nigerians to Embrace Farming to Survive Buharinomics

Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia
With the economic hardship biting harder by the day, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa has urged Nigerians to embrace agriculture in order to stay afloat, saying that it has become so obvious that the federal government lack ideas to improve the economy.

He made the call yesterday at a town hall meeting he organised for Abia North senatorial zone held at Ebem, the headquarters of Ohafia Local Government, during which he gave account of his stewardship so far in the Senate.

“Things are hard in the country but the worst is that there is no plan to make it better. The level of suffering in the country is unbearable,” he said, adding that the APC government has only succeeded in deceiving the people with the change mantra.

Ohuabunwa, who is the Chairman of Senate committee on Primary Health Care and Communicable Diseases, Mao Ohuabunwa, said that agriculture had in the past provided the nation with the hence Nigerians should go back to the farm.

“I want to be a farmer myself,” he said, adding that it has become necessary for Nigerians to take farming seriously if they want to survive the present economic realities.
The Abia North senator urged the people of the zone, comprising five local governments, namely, Arochukwu, Bende, Isuikwuato, Ohafia and Umunneochi to remain steadfast in PDP so that by 2019, the party could recover its leadership at the national level.

He explained that the town hall meeting was in fulfillment of his campaign promise to regularly interact with the people in order to inform them of his activities, feel their pulse and find ways to improve their lives.

Ohuabunwa, whose mandate is presently being challenged at the tribunal after the rerun election, lamented that the lingering legal tussle has impacted negatively on his plans for his constituency as all the projects earmarked for the good of the zone were not captured in the 2016 budget.

According to him, the projects he had brought before the Senate included rural electrification for Isuikwuato and Umunneochi, as well as road rehabilitation and erosion control.

However, he regretted he was temporarily out of the Senate during the budget preparation following the court order for election rerun in his constituency hence his projects were not included in the budget.
The former Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament explained that his decision to go to the Senate was not for personal enrichment but for the overall good of the people he represents.

Alluding to the legal battle over his mandate, Ohuabunwa said he and Governor Okezie Ikpeazu have become the most embattled elected officers in the country today.

He further lamented before the gathering comprising traditional rulers, political office holders, women and youth organisations, transport unions and farmers, among others that the protracted election litigation was affecting his programmes for the zone because of the financial involvement.

Nonetheless, the senator appealed to his constituents to be patient, promising that everything he had promised would be accomplished.

He said he has plans to establish skills acquisition centre, loan scheme for women and youths, scholarship for indigent students and empowerment programme with brand new tractors for farmers.
On the challenge being mounted by some politicians from Abia North to unseat Ikpeazu, the Abia North senator reiterated that the people of the zone were not behind such move as it was at variance with the Abia charter of equity.

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