From Maurice Okafor, Enugu
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for the Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency in the 2027 general election, Hon. Chinedu Onyeagba, has promised to leverage his experience from China to establish micro-enterprises in various communities across the constituency if elected.
Onyeagba, who lived in China for 15 years and still transacts business with Chinese companies, disclosed this in a brief chat with newsmen in Enugu.
He said most of the industries would be sited in communities with a comparative advantage in raw materials needed to manufacture specific products.
He stressed that human empowerment, especially for women and youths, would be a major focus of his constituency projects.
According to him, rural women would receive grants to boost their trade and commercial activities, while youths would be encouraged to acquire skills that would enable them to fit into various production processes.
“Many Youths also need Capital as grants to start their own business. I will also offer free skill acquisition training on tiling, block moulding, electrical wiring, Fittings, Plastering,etc because Real Estate is the future”
He assured that he would bring his Chinese experience to bear in Greater Awgu by sponsoring some youths from the constituency to China for skills acquisition.
He stated, “I lived in China for fifteen years. I will sponsor some Youths from my Constiuency to learn how to manufacture motorcycles, bicycles, Intelligent Smart Rice Mills which de – stones rice. Also there are machines which can squeeze out groundnut Oils and Palm kernel cracking machines, all of which can be installed in a room”.
Onyeagba also promised to boost the agricultural sector in the Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency if elected.
He said there would be a paradigm shift from the usual cultivation of yam and cassava to cash crops such as bitter kola and breadfruit (Ukwa), which he described as money-spinning ventures.
He said it could take 10 years for a bitter kola plant to start producing seeds, while a newly planted breadfruit tree takes between seven and eight years to mature and produce fruits, adding that the commercial value of the seeds per tree could reach one million naira and three hundred thousand naira per annum.
He disclosed that he currently has a private farm with 5,000 bitter kola seedlings and promised to personally mentor Greater Awgu youths interested in bitter kola farming as a means of maximising profit.
His words, “I have a bitter kola farm with five thousand seedlings.I will teach Greater Awgu Youths who want to embrace Agricultural the best way to germinate bitter kola so it can produce under 10 years and they will be making money easily.
A painter of bitter kola at the moment is valued at #70,000 in the market. From one tree, a farmer can make one million naira in a year. A bitter kola tree takes about ten years to start producing seeds”, Hon.Onyeagba said.
The ADC candidate for the Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency said that, if elected, the first bill he would sponsor at the National Assembly would seek to establish a research institute on bitter kola in Greater Awgu.
Onyeagba also told newsmen that the healthcare needs of Greater Awgu residents would form an integral part of his constituency projects.
He disclosed that he would consolidate on the Type 2 hospitals established by Governor Peter Mbah in various wards to improve healthcare delivery to his constituents.
To this end, he said he would provide a mobile clinic in the form of an ambulance attached to a qualified medical doctor, with the responsibility of attending to patients and elderly people in rural areas.
“I will station Mobile clinics in the villages. Each Mobile clinic will have a medical doctor . Our old men and women in the villages will be checked of their blood pressures and sugar levels and get treatment from the Doctors”,Hon.Onyeagba said.
He also promised to tackle perennial potable water shortages in Greater Awgu communities by purchasing mobile water borehole-drilling equipment to drill boreholes from one community to another based on requests.
However, he said the communities would be responsible for constructing overhead tanks to store the water.
On road infrastructure, Onyeagba said it was the responsibility of the Federal and State Governments to construct and maintain roads, but promised to remain steadfast in demanding the execution of road projects earmarked for Greater Awgu.
He said he was in politics to serve and would prove this once again at the National Assembly if elected.
