- Says I won’t abandon PDP
- Our service is work in progress
The Senate Committee Chairman on Gas, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe says the legislative function of law making and oversight aside, his primary focus as an elected official is to fulfill the social contract with his constituents.
This is as he dismissed speculations about abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a bargaining chip to retain his seat in the National Assembly come 2027.
According to Jarigbe, who represents Cross River North Senatorial district in the current 10th National Assembly, providing infrastructural facilities and enhancing the constituents’ human capital development remain his top priority as their representative.
Jarigbe gave the assurance while hosting a delegation of Cross River State Journalists Forum (CROSSJOF) led by its interim Chairman, Fransica Ogar in his Abuja residence, noting that the last two years has seen him delivering effectively on the campaign promises made to the people.
He said; “We are set to represent our people. We made some promises during the electioneering campaign and we’ve kept to those promises and it is work in progress. Take a look at the 2024 budget, they just approved 2025 budget which is yet to be implemented. I can read out all the projects I have done to you but majorly we set out to provide infrastructural facilities and also enhance human capital development that’s our agenda primarily.
“If you go to Ogoja, Obudu, Yala, Bekwarra, and Obanliku, you will discovered that there’s no council ward, in the senatorial district that doesn’t have one infrastructural facility or the other from water, electricity rural electrification, roads, building school blocks and furnishings, as well as laboratory equipments.
“When you go to the health sector, we have provided from medicine to medical equipments. You go to some of this Primary Health Care Centers, you discover that before now they did not have simple things like glucometers, sphygmomanometers, even thermometers, they couldn’t even take the vital signs of their patients. We try to make sure that those things are put in place.
“Like they say charity begins at home. The road to my village was an eyesore. I know that that is between Ogoja and Ibil Local Government, but by this week they are doing the stone base of the last phase of that road to Abakpa. That road is going to be motor-able and several other roads like the Boki road in Abakpa. I was born to meet that road in that dilapidated state but today that road is fixed, facilitated by my office and several other roads. I can go on and on, but our people actually support what we are doing that is why they voted for us overwhelmingly in the last election and gave us their mandate and as I said we have a social contract and we can do better”.
Additionally, Jarigbe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Gas, said a few of his constituents have been empowered with some funds to start small businesses, while also supporting others with school fees
“But right now, I think we have deliberately embarked on scholarships, programs and bursary payments to our students, and we plan to pay bursary by next month. And a few of our people have been sent abroad, and they enjoyed the scholarship from NDDC and particularly PTDF, they are studying abroad in Europe, in the UK and all of that. So, we are doing our best in that direction”, he said.
Addressing the issue of human capital development, Jarigbe said, “We have that in different phases, those who want to go to school, those who want to do business, we are doing our best to support them. we have empowered a few of our people with funds to business, we support our people in different phases but right now we have to deliberately embark in scholarship programs and bursary payment to our students we plan to pay next month and a few of our people have been sent abroad they enjoyed the scholarships from NDDC and PTDF particularly PTDF a few of our people are studying in Europe and Uk we are doing our best in that direction.”
On the bills and motions he has sponsored in the 10th senate, the PDP Senator said; “I have some pending bills, including the establishment of the federal medical center, which has gone through the second reading and have gone to the public hearing, so we expect that we get to third reading and taking to Mr. President for assent basically that is the major one. The other ones are in various stages. The one I have my eyes on is the issue of the federal medical centre and the other bills I sponsored like the issue of the federal university of technology got to the President table for assent and he declined including the federal polytechnic, Ogoja bill and all of that, that’s what happens when you are in the opposition, we pray that God does it someday for us”.
Specifically touching on the gale of defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Jarigbe said there is nothing to worry about and he remains a PDP senator while his constituents and people solidly behind him.
He further said; “Our politics is local. You get what I mean. If I go to my place and tell my people I’m defecting, they will tell me to go but that they are not going. So, it is about your people. My people want to stay in PDP, so whosoever defects has a reason for defecting. I am not to judge anybody. I will go with my people. They want us to stay in PDP and I will stay with my people, that’s not because we are fighting anybody but it is about my senatorial district and I limit myself to that.”
About the agitation for states’ creation, Senator Jarigbe said, “The issue about creation of state will be novelle if we have this particular President create states in Nigeria. It has never happened in a democratic dispensation but we don’t rule it out and we are going to do our best in order to realize that! And if there is one state that deserves to be created in Nigeria today, it is the Ogoja state and I think Mr President will grant us that demand and the request for the Ogoja state”.
Meanwhile, Jarigbe, who is the only PDP Senator from the state, said the people of Northern Cross River should be prayerful and hopeful for the best because he remains committed and poised to deliver the dividends of democracy.
Promising not to renege on his social contract with the people as well as the vision he has for the people of Cross River State, Sen Jarigbe said; “I urge all of us to give the government of the State the full support to deliver so they are not distracted, because our people actually need good governance taken to their doorsteps.”
CROSSJOF’s interaction with Senator Jarigbe is part of the Forum’s set objectives to hold elected officials as well as Federal Government appointees of Cross River State origin accountable to the people.
