Imo North: Footprints of trailblazing lawmaker

Until a little over one year and eight months ago, Imo North Senatorial District was in the doldrums. It was as if the locusts had visited and refused to leave, thereby reducing the region to a wasteland.

That was before Sir Frank Chukwuma  Ibezim, emerged as the senator representing the zone in the ninth    National Assembly. He could be likened to a camel that somehow passed through the proverbial eye of a needle before he could take his seat in the hallowed Red Chamber of the upper legislative house.

He scaled through 28 court cases two of which ended up at the Supreme Court in his favour. So, his political enemies were eager to see him fail and set in motion vibrant propaganda meant to deceive and to confuse the people despite landmark achievements that are obvious even the blind.

 That notwithstanding, Ibezim was well-heeled for the foul tackles to bring him down and focused on giving Imo North a voice and attracting democracy dividends to the area.

Ibezim took his seat in the Ninth National Assembly on April 27, 2021, to complete the tenure of the late Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu. He has worked tirelessly to plant indelible footprints on the zone. It was unexpected because being a newcomer to the senate; nobody gave him a chance to do much, considering also the many disparaging lies churned out by opponents during the electioneering campaign.

 He has sponsored bills and moved motions. For instance, among others, he sponsored the bill on African Union Convention For The Protection And Assistance Of Internally Displaced Persons In Africa (Domestication And Enforcement) Bill, 2021, and led the debate on the general principles of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Domestication And Enforcement) Bill, 2021.  

 He was also behind the Bill For An Act To Establish The National Research And Innovation Council, The National Research And Innovation Foundation, And For Related Matters.

Ibezim’s motion for the urgent need to construct a Power Transmission Substation in Okigwe LGA for rapid industrial growth, is, perhaps, his greatest achievement thus far.

He argued that constant and regular electricity supply is key to the industrial development of any country and noted that Okigwe, the headquarter of Imo North Senatorial District had suffered neglect over the years and as such had never enjoyed regular electricity supply due to absence of a power transmission substation despite that the zone was marked for the construction of a power transmission substation in 2003 alongside Port Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia and Enugu, respectively by the Federal Ministry of Power. 

Ibezim reminded the senate that whereas the Federal Ministry of Power supervised and delivered the approved transmission line from Port Harcourt to Enugu with construction of a substation, it failed to do the same for Okigwe, resulting in the people suffering irregular power supply, with its attendant socio-economic consequences.

 He had made three demands, viz: The Federal Ministry of Power to urgently effect the construction of the already approved but abandoned Okigwe 132/33KVA transmission substation; the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on power supply in Okigwe and other communities across the country; and the Federal Ministry of Power to upgrade the Okigwe power facility to a district station.

 In fact, that hit the bull’s eye, as all requests were approved. The quest was successful and, consequently, three projects were approved for the area and are at an advanced stage of construction.

 Apart from that, the distinguished senator facilitated the visit of the inspection teams of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, National Electricity Regulatory Commission, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to the Okigwe Power Transmission Substation site, down to Ohiya, Umuahia Power Station. This visit propelled the NDDC to commence the drawing of a direct line from Ohiya, Umuahia Station to Ihitte Uboma to the Open University at Ezeoke Nsu in Ehime Mbano, thereby decongesting Obowo for service to its surroundings.

 Similarly, Ibezim got the TCN to commit to expeditiously installing a full-capacity mobile Power Transmission Station at the Okigwe Power Transmission Substation site, along the Okigwe-Umuahia area of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway. This is to serve Okigwe, Onuimo, Isiala Mbano, Arondizuogu, and part of Orlu and shall free the Egbu Station to effectively serve the Owerri axis.

 Ibezim attracted and completed the 60 kW solar power in Umuchiaku, Ihitte Uboma LGA – the first of its kind in the South-east; the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), in Nsu, the largest in the geopolitical zone; 5km erosion control road; 4km erosion control road at Ishinweke-Lowa; 3km Umualumaku road; maintenance of old Okigwe-Umuahia road, etc. He has also ensured the Federal Government’s involvement through the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, FERMA, in the construction and maintenance of certain roads through the intervention of the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola.  Not to be left out are the several kilometers of the road network at the campus of the NOUN.

 Besides these, Ibezim, who is the vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Industries and also a member of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, is a champion of foundation education, especially when children are involved.

He moved a motion urging the Federal Government to promote the development of classroom/modern libraries and robust reading culture in Nigeria, noting with concern the decline in reading culture amongst most Nigerians.

This, he observed, is even more visible in schools beginning from the formative and basic years of primary school through secondary school and tertiary institutions. He noted that this has reached an alarming rate and needs to be addressed urgently before it worsens.

 This love for foundation education was made manifest in his Classroom Libraries Project he pioneered in primary schools in the country, using at least 18 primary schools in Imo North as pilots. The lawmaker also motivated teachers through cash awards to elicit their commitment and passion for this project. He also sponsored a debate among secondary schools in the zone and winners were handsomely rewarded accordingly.

He was also active in different oversight functions and called for the upgrade of the Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport in Owerri; he secured several major Federal Government interventions, such as the N30, 000 Survival Funds from the Bank of Industry from which not less than 400 persons of Imo North benefitted; N60,000 Special Public Works Programme, with not less than 300 beneficiaries; N500,000 Covid-19 Relief Loan, with over 200 beneficiaries; N60,000 Job Security Stipends and N100,000 National Directorate of Employment Loan, targeting not less than 600 persons.

 In all, over 1000 Imo North constituents benefitted from these intervention programmes, which have alleviated their pain and boosted the economy of many households, families, and communities in the zone. There have also been digital training sessions for youths, who were given work tools and take-off capital after their training.

 Ibezim, a sports enthusiast and former Imo commissioner for agriculture and natural resources, also launched the Senator Frank Ibezim Football Academy for Support to Talented Football Enthusiasts of Imo North as well as promoted youths in the zone and their football team to participate in a competition in Enugu.

 Also, five youths from each local government, culminating in a total of 30 beneficiaries, also emerged as participants in the senator’s cinematography academy programme. The programme was targeted at training individuals to become experts in videography, documentary photography, video, and picture editing and ultimately empowering a total of 300 youths from the zone (50 from each LGA).

 The Distinguished Senator was very responsive to the cries of victims of a flooding disaster in some parts of Imo North. He rushed to the scene to sympathise with the people and also mobilised help towards tackling environmental degradation in his constituency. He promptly wrote to the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and followed up with a visit to the NEMA Director-General of Ahmed Mustapha Habib, to solicit relief for the victims of the flooding that caused havoc to most businesses in Imo North.

 In the same vein, Ibezim saw to it that the yearly flooding challenge around Isinweke-Lowa, Ihitte Uboma LGA of the zone was tackled permanently.

 Evidently, Ibezim has refined the art of representation in Imo North and won the acclaim of his constituents. His achievements are like a pregnant woman, who can no longer tell the world nothing happened behind the doors with a man. He has permanently sealed the mouths of his inveterate traducers. However, a little more media visibility would be further desirable.