The member representing Isiala Ngwa South State Constituency in the 8th Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Rowland Chinwendu Dennis, has made case for his constituency, Isiala Ngwa South to be included as one of the beneficiaries of the recent loans accessed by the State from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and RAMP.
The lawmaker, who made the call on Tuesday on the floor of the House while presenting a motion captioned, “MOTION FOR THE ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT TO INCLUDE ISIALA NGWA SOUTH STATE CONSTITUENCY AS ONE OF THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE RECENT LOANS ACCESSED BY THE STATE FROM AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK AND RAMP”, said his constituency parades the highest number of bad roads and erosion menace in the entire State.
Hon. Dennis decried that Isiala Ngwa South has been sidetracked and relegated to the background in the utilisation of previous loans in the State, stressing that this neglect of the LGA, has made his constituents ponder over and over again if they are still part of Abia State.
In his words, “Mr Speaker, my sadness in this process is that Isiala Ngwa South State Constituency which has the highest number of bad roads, the highest number of erosion menace, the highest neglect by previous administrations was not mentioned prominently on the loan. And the Question my people Keep Asking is, has Isiala Ngwa South been removed from Abia State? “.
He revealed that a whole lot of rural roads in his constituency are begging for rehabilitation reconstruction, stating that these roads have further doubled the sufferings of his people and prevented them from comfortably coming to the urban areas where they can sell their farm produce with a view to make a living.
Hon. Dennis said he expected that the $54M previously granted by the World Bank would have captured Isiala Ngwa South, but was disappointed that the loan could not go half in covering Aba, before it was cancelled, adding that the $50m loan by RAMP which is for rural areas did not also capture Isiala Ngwa South as they claimed that Isiala Ngwa South is part of others.
He appealed to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, that Isiala Ngwa South be prominently captured in the $263,000 000 loan by the African Development Bank cooling off in the account of the Abia State Government, maintaining that Isiala Ngwa South cannot be part of others as the LGA has bad roads, erosion menace to contend with.
The Lawmaker also demanded clarification on the recently approved $50m by RAMP for rural communities, emphasizing that there is need to know the projects captured in addition to knowing if they are the most pressing rural link roads which will assist in enhancing the well-being of the people.
Hon. Dennis, who frowned at the media war going on between the camp of the immediate past administration and the current administration over the loan from AfDB and RAMP, appealed for calm from both factions, saying that his constituency Isiala Ngwa South will be the biggest losers if the loan is cancelled like previous ones, stating that the World Bank and the AFDB are monitoring developments in the State while calling for ceasefire so that the loan will not be cancelled.
Iheanacho Chidera Taata
Personal Assistant
Media & publicity
25/07/2023.
