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Rivers South West: Why We Must Support Hon. Apiafi By Barr. Nwokoma Ogbu Francisca



The news of the victory of the member representing Abua/ Odual and Ahoada East at the Federal House of Representatives as the Senatorial aspirant that will fly the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in next year’s Senatorial elections did not come as a surprise for most of us that are members of the party and who have fervently supported the party since its creation. Her decision to contest the Senatorial seat of our party has also received our support even if I was not privileged to be among the delegates.
The fact that Hon. Apiafi who has been in the House of Representatives since 2007 and has the requisite experience in the National Assembly to help attract better opportunities for our Senatorial zone will never be in doubt. That she is a ranking member of the nation’s parliament will also come to bear when positions will be shared in the nation’s parliament if she eventually makes it to the Red Chambers next year which I am optimistic she will do considering the personality of her opponent in the race.
As a woman who is a proponent of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and who has travelled far and wide to preach goal five of the SDGs that concerns gender equality, I want to commend the PDP for nominating Hon. Apiafi as its standard bearer. Her nomination goes a long way to make a statement that the party is gender sensitive and to this end, I wish to implore the people of the Senatorial zone to ensure that they vote her as the next senator that will represent the zone come 2019.
Aside the fact that I am supporting her as a woman, I am also convinced that she has all it takes and has shown that she is capable for the job ahead. Recall also that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC and Hon. Apiafi were in the House of Representatives together and the kind of kind of enthusiasm which she showed in moving motions and Bills cannot be compared with that of her opponent who was virtually docile in the House during his eight year tenure. Rivers west needs a proactive parliamentarian in the mold of Hon. Apiafi who will help attract better opportunities for the senatorial zone that is blessed with so much resources and yet has not got a commensurate benefit due to the lack of commitment of previous occupants of the seat to draw attention to the sufferings of the people of the Senatorial zone neither have they also attracted projects that is beneficial to the zone.
Aside the fact that she is a woman, the nomination of the Chairman of the House Committee on health institutions as the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP has shown that the party aside being gender sensitive is also sensitive to the various ethnic groups that constitute the Senatorial District. The Kalabaris have had a shot at the position through the late Sen. Martins Yellowe, the Ogbas were represented by Sen. Wilson Ake and the Ekpeyes had it with Sen. Osi Ideozu who unfortunately was the worse of the lot. Aside being a bad party person, he did nothing to show for the confidence which the people of the zone reposed on him. This is definitely what the incoming Senator from the zone in the person of Hon. Betty Apiafi will not do. She has shown that she is a loyal party person by sticking to the party even when others decamped and followed Rotimi Amaechi to the All Progressives Congress APC. As the leader of the Rivers state caucus in the House of Representatives, she has also shown support for the state governor drawing even opposition members of the House to show solidarity for the state governor. Her proactive leadership was evident in the decamping of some members of the House from the APC back to the PDP.
To my dear people of Rivers West I wish to implore you once more to ensure that the needful is done by electing the best candidate that will bring pride to our zone. That person is Hon. Betty Apiafi a banker of repute, educationist, consummate parliamentarian and loyal party person. We have a date with history by choosing between a dedicated parliamentarian and a docile one with no clear cut agenda for the progress of the zone and at the end, I believe the good people of our zone will not settle for a sleeping person who did nothing for his constituents when he wallowed in the parliament for eight years.

Barr. Nwokoma Ogbu Francisca is the National Coordinator of Save De Globe an official promoter of the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria

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