By Amos Aar
A former member of the Benue State House of Assembly and immediate past Commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism in the state, Mrs Ngunan Addingi, on Monday lamented that the people of Buruku local government area of Benue State are living on the bank of River Benue but lack potable water.
Mrs Addingi, who is the flagbearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) vying to represent Buruku federal constituency at the House of Representatives, spoke Monday at the Benue State secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Makurdi.
She stated that Buruku is the only federal constituency without federal presence in terms of standard hospitals, higher institutions of learning and other social amenities. The situation, she noted, has been occasioned by ineffective representation hence she threw her hat in the ring for next Saturday’s election to address the infrastructural deficit in the area and to become the voice of her people especially youths and women.
“Buruku is the only federal constituency that in some areas they have never seen a coal-tar [tarred road] in their lives. There are some areas without electricity and in some areas, you will never see a candle not to talk of NEPA light,” Mrs Addingi revealed.
Speaking on her efforts to address the water challenge, Addingi disclosed that she dug twenty-six (26) boreholes, two in each council ward when she was in the Benue State House of Assembly but noted that the 26 boreholes were not enough, considering the huge population and promised to provide more boreholes if elected.
Stressing the need for Buruku people to elect somebody like her who has wealth of experience to be able to lobby for constituency projects, Addingi argued that Buruku was supposed to have four House of Assembly members going by the Nigerian constitution but it has just one and she was making case for an addition.
“It was a battle that I began when I was still at the state House of Assembly. I was actually the one that woke my people up to the reality that they are supposed to have two seats. Unfortunately, I took the matter to court and we lost but we are still on it at the Appeal.
“What INEC said to me was that, yes, it’s constitutional but we don’t have money. In my head, I said this is not right because you are depriving the people of Buruku. So, we are still on that matter and I am hoping that we will get at least one more seat for the people of Buruku, she assured.
Addingi added that while at the state Assembly, he initiated a bill for the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, sponsored a bill that brought about the prohibition of the harassment of youths and women and many other important bills.
According to her, she was the first lawmaker from Buruku both at the state and federal levels to brief her constituency since 1999.
“I was the only person that has ever gone back to Buruku for constituency briefing since 1999. No member of the state House of Assembly, no member of the House of Representatives. In fact, the people of Buruku did not know that their members were supposed to come back and brief them. I did that, I was the first and I’m still the last,” she claimed.
Fielding questions on the issue of lack of party structures that may affect her aspiration, Addingi said there was nothing to panic about because she won election in the past on the platform of a fringe political party in the state, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and that she will do it again under the SDP.
She further pointed out that the Peoples Democratic (PDP) no longer has a solid structure in Buruku as many influential members of the party like herself and the current member representing Buruku federal constituency have defected from it to SDP and Labour Party respectively.
Addingi is confident of clinching the seat, saying power belongs to the people and the people are ready to vote for her across political parties based on her pedigree and track records of achievements as a former state House of Assembly member.
Although she noted that there’s paucity of funds, Addingi expressed the hope that she will lobby for it when she gets to the green chamber of the National Assembly.
