APGA Rep Candidate To Prioritise Education, Youth Empowerment

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), for Oju/Obi federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Isaac Okwori Ochi, has reiterated his commitment to make a difference in Igede Nation if given opportunity to serve in the 2023 general election.

He said his decision to run for the House of Representatives slot for Igede, was to salvage the entire Igede Nation from backwardness and underdevelopment in terms of access to education, health and social amenities that could make life meaningful for the people.

Ochi, a former lecturer with the University of Abuja who spoke at an interactive session with newsmen yesterday in Abuja, said if elected, he would give priority to provision of access to education through scholarships as well as women and youth empowerment.

He emphasised the importance of education in nation-building, calling on the federal government and the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASSU) to return to negotiation table with open mind to end the over seven months industrial action.

“We cannot afford to keep our children at home indefinitely. The issues involved are things to settle out of court with right commitment,” he said.

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Ochi, stressed that his ‘Divine Mandate’ to rescue Igede Nation from jaws of extreme poverty, poor infrastructure and neglect in the national scheme of things, was rock-solid as it is not just one of those political ambitions but borne out of genuine desire to serve the people.

He dispelled innuendoes being peddled in some quarters allegedly by his political opponents that he was stepping down for an unknown candidate, saying that was outright falsehood and handiwork of “detractors who are jittery of my wide acceptability by the people”.

“Look, Oju local government was created in 1976, from which Obi local government was curved out on the 1st October 1996. In all the about 46 years, no Federal presence.

“As we are speaking, there is no access roads to the two local governments that make up the Igede land. The roads are in terrible and deplorable conditions to the extent that a journey of 45 minutes to Makurdi, the Benue State capital, now takes over three hours.

“You talk about education, the fact that our able-bodied young persons are being transported to the west and other parts of the country for indentured labour and other menial jobs in cities, should be a concern to every right-thinking Igede person,” he said.