By John Oghojafor
Call him a first termer in the House of Reps, and you are absolutely right. But as an old warhorse in the arena of his welfarist philosophy and unionism, Hon. Comrade Barr. Etanabene Benedict is not a neophyte when it comes to the issue of quality and selfless representation of his people.
The Okpe-born lawyer, farmer and politician who is currently representing Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency in the House Representatives, had cut his teeth as a dependable leader when, as a staff, he served as chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, branch in Effurun, Delta State.
He left behind an indelible mark of quality representation which today, has gone down in the history of the Institute as the apogee of unionism-inspired staff welfare that both the management and staff still regard as a hallmark of people’s representation today. At least, a former Principal of the Institute, Engr. Ovuru would continue to reflect on the relationship between management and PENGASSAN during his days when Ben was the chairman of PENGASSAN in the school.
Engaging Hon. Ben on issues that bother on the problems that are stagnating the progress of this country and the possible solutions especially as it affects the overall welfare of Nigerians, could only leave one agape.
Hon. Ben cannot be described as one of those Nigerians who have made it to the upper class, but he is definitely well endowed with a high level of perspicacity and unrepentant empathy for the weak and needy in the society.
So, when through providence, he emerged the Honourable member to represent the good people of Okpe, Sapele and Uvwie Federal Constituency in the green chambers of the Natural Assembly, it was indeed, an opportunity for him to off-load and demonstrate the stuff he is made of.
Ben has barely spent a year in the National Assembly, but his streak of achievement is quite amazing, amidst the fact that he, and amongst his other colleagues in the 10th Assembly, hadn’t the privilege of participating in the build up of the 2023 budget.
A few months after his inauguration in the National Assembly, Abuja, this writer, while traveling from Sapele to Warri in a public transportation vehicle, encountered a local from one of the communities in Sapele Local Government Area. Engaged in local politicking, he started singing the praise of Hon. Etanabene and how he has commenced the disbursement of N50,000 per elderly in the rural communities in Okpe kingdom, adding the his grandmother was a beneficiary. The revelation struck me like a thunderbolt as it was my first time I observed that a politician would start his tenure with the fulfillment of his electioneering promises.
Addressing his supporters in Sapele recently, Etanabene appealed to his constituents to be patient that he made substantial inputs in the 2024 budget, adding that the remaining half of the year shall witness tremendous empowerment and infrastructural development throughout the OSU federal Constituency.
He however disclosed that his promise of N50,000 monthly empowerment to 100 old people and 50 physically challenged persons was ongoing. According to him, he successfully fixed 5 persons for jobs in the Federal Civil Service, 2 persons in the Nigeria Police Force recruitment, 4 persons for NDDC Scholarship and 1 person in PTDF Scholarship.
These are remarkable achievements worthy of commendation for a first termer in the National Assembly. But that was not all. In the area of infrastructure, Hon. Etanabene is reputed to have installed solar-powered street lights along PTI Road and Ekpan, all in Uvwie Local Government Area.
Ben is actually out to re-enact his history of selfless leadership and philanthropy. He has gone out of his way to commence his social welfare programme with the empowerment of his constituents by way of settling hospital bills of those who are ill as well as payment of rents and other forms of personal supports. He is embarking on all of these despite the fact that his Constituency projects contained in the 2024 are yet to be fully processed to take off.
The history of those who had represented the OSU federal Constituency right from 1999 is quite known to all. But this, indeed, is novel and unique. If this starting point is to be used as parameter for measurement of his future performance, then OSU Constituents must ready for a bumper harvest of empowerment and development they have never experienced.
A look at the checklist of his lawmaking prowess that could transform to infrastructural development of his area, Ben said he sponsored a bill for the conversion and upgrade of the Sapele Technical College to a University and a motion to resume the construction of the Amukpe, Eku, Abraka federal highway in the floor of the House.
He has also reached out by way of lobbying those in charge in the executive arm and colleagues in different House Committees in Nigerian Ports on the need to re-open the Sapele Port and Koko ports, as well as making the Warri port more functional.
The farmer cum politician, also assured his constituents to expect more empowerment especially among the youths and women in areas of skill acquisition and training, construction and equipment of Information and Communication Technology, ICT, Centres, while he also promised to embark on fencing of some schools in his Constituency.
The House of Reps member however used the occasion to clarify that neither he nor any member of the House of Assembly is given any allowance or cash as Constituency projects, rather he only has the privilege of suggesting projects from his Constituency that should included in the budget.
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