- At ease with Gov Bello as NUJ writes to thank him.
By YJ Itopa.
When you are yet to finish pouring encomiums on him for one pleasant news, another sweet tidings will tumble in stirring everyone into a jubilant mood. Only last week, the Media was awash with his news as he was again, and for the fourth uninterrupted time, paid the WAEC fees for all students in Yagba Federal Constituency.
It is no overstatement to describe Hon Leke Joseph Abejide, the House of Representatives member representing Yagba Federal Constituency from Kogi State under the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the love of his constituency given his superlative performance as a Federal law maker.
Abejide is barely two years in office. But his stewardship tells of the performance of a visionary legislator in his last tenure of two terms.
When he reeled out his achievements in a programme he tagged: A Mega Empowerment for the people of Yagba East, Yagba West and Mopa-Amuro Local Government Areas shortly before the close of last year, beneficiaries of Abejide’s benevolence, including his detractors and doubting Thomases, praised him to high heavens and left the venue of the mega largesse with no grain of doubt in their minds that the lawmaker was one of the few politicians in the country who truly know the meaning of democratic governance and as one in which the interest of the masses of the people, the hewers of wood and the drawers of water is sacrosanct and clear as snow.
He goes to slums to make the plebeians smile unlike many of his peers who say the slum smells and no longer suitable for visit and reciprocal uplift after riding on the crest of the same slum dwellers to secure silver and gold of power.
Through his MEGA EMPOWERMENT, Abejide, the Chairman of House Committee on Customs and Excise delivered amazing democracy dividends to the people. He gave cars, he gave motorcycles and tricycles. People sang and danced to their compounds with sewing and grinding machines knowing the blaze the gestures will have on their lives. Now, he has reeled out millions of naira to pay WAEC fees for students. It was a big relief for parents in his constituency.
Fertilizers, hair dryers, laptops, generators, clippers, mechanical and electrical tools were also given to the electors through the lawmaker’s MEGA EMPOWERMENT.
There were other stuffs such as Primaries 1-6 text books, JSS 1 to JSS 3 text books, other instructional materials, jute bags of rice and bales of printed wax with which the items Tent was filled for the beneficiaries such as widows and orphans, widowers and other vulnerable people.
Over seventeen different items were given to more than 500 beneficiaries in this latest empowerment by Hon Leke Abejide to lift his constituents from their pits of poverty, made possible by consecutive and insensate leaderships. He simply could not watch his people, his electors suffer unlike many of his peers.
They voted for him and he did not drink himself to stupor with the intoxicants of his new heights. He remembers it was his constituents who carried him shoulder high to the arena of lawmaking in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He feasts and sups with them at the ghetto by way of ceaseless empowerments.
It was disclosed that the benevolent lawmaker had in the last two years paid the fees for final year students both in public and private secondary schools across the three local government areas that formed the Federal Constituency.
While canvassing for support, he promised to improve the health status of his Constituency with quality health centres for his people he said were dear to him. Abejide has fulfilled that promise with five and well equipped hospitals. And they cut across Ife Olukotun, Isanlu, Mopa, Odo-Ere and Egbe.
Just within two years in office, the swift footed lawmaker has been able to influence the rehabilitation and reconstruction of a number of roads which included Omuo-Oke-Igbagun road. He was reported to have told Journalists that he had started working on Igbagun-Alu-Ifeolukotun-Jegejege-Ijowa road.”By the grace of God,” he prayed.
The people-celebrated lawmaker, creative and sharp at lobbying his colleague lawmakers and other critical stakeholders across different political parties, was reported by media outfits to have successfully through creative lobbying put Iluagba-Isanlu road in the budget. The trust between him and his Constituents leaves him wakeful till he could prove his worthiness in trust to them.
Still counting, Hon. Abejide mentioned to his appreciative Party supporters some of his numerous achievements:
“I cannot quantify the numerous financial assistance I have rendered to the indigenes of Yagba in the areas of business, education and health. I have facilitated the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) 500 thousand naira loan to 335 persons in Yagba. I have equally installed Sola Powered streetlights in some communities and towns in my constituency,” he revealed.
If encomiums were physical and silos, quantum praises for the young but brainy House of Representatives Member would have needed a large crowd to carry them with and for him and to the house.
Happy beyond compare, One of Abejide’s Community monarchs, Oba Samuel Bayode Olamoje, the Elejiba of Ejiba thanked him and described the Mega Empowerment as “first of its kind in the whole of Yagba Constituency.”
Hear the traditional ruler as he revealed that:
“No fewer than 200 small enterprises involving young entrepreneurs have benefited from the vocational training equipments to help them in various skill acquisition programmes. Abejide has also been empowering our youths through the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to promote diverse agricultural extension, all geared towards the sustainability of their livelihoods. We can’t thank him enough. What he is doing is first of its kind in Yagba Constituency,” the Royal father disclosed.
If Abejide is a prophet, he is not like the proverbial prophet that had no honour at home. His own prophet has honour both at home and outside his home.
Considering his achievements in fabulously spreading the dividends of democracy and lawmaking at National Assembly. Many of the bills he sponsored and still sponsoring were and are quickly passed for assents as they aimed and aim at quickly building this Nation in viability and repute. Noted for his philanthropic and electoral excellence, a Nigerian Online Media had recently singled Hon Leke Abejide out for an Award of Excellence because of what they saw him do and heard people say about him were no fictions.
It was to this effect that the Chairman of the Kogi State of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Alh MomohJimoh Adeiza recently wrote on behalf of of the entire working Journalists in the state to congratulate Hon. Abejide on the Online media Award as he also thanked him for not turning his back to his people.
The NUJ letter, signed by the Chairman and Secretary read:
“We write on behalf of all working Journalists in Kogi State to heartily congratulate you on your emergence as the winner of a Nigerian Online Media award in the House of Representatives category for Kogi State.
“The award did not come to us as a surprise given your antecedents as a humane, generous and kind hearted personality, working tirelessly to make life better for people of your constituency and beyond
You have raised the bar of quality representation and you have as well set a record that will take time to be equaled by anybody.”
Goodness, or act of doing good had found a stool in his heart and sat permanently on it since Mr Abejide was a young boy. Asked when and why he grew his infectious habit of radiating love towards all manner of people, he told the inquisitive pen pushers, (this writer was one of the pen pushers that interviewed him that day), he revealed that poverty once stonily stared him in the face to the extent that he was nearly unable to pay for his WAEC registration fees.
The consequence would have been for him to drop out of school becoming a ready fodder for the fire of unscrupulous politicians. But by of hard work, determination and prayer, Abejide is telling sweet stories today because he did not plan to fall by the way side.
“I keep remembering that time. I shudder to hear that because of financial constraints, students will drop out of schools. I cannot tolerate it. What becomes of their future.? This is why I combine lives-touching activities in my constituency with my normal Business – I am a business man and lawmaking. This is why I have a five year budget plan of 375 million naira for WAEC fees for the students of my Constituency. We have been consistent in this effort. Our children are our future. But they need education to make the future we want and prayed for. I am feel fulfilled fighting the poverty that will make the school children of my Constituency drop out of school.”
At that Press briefing in Abuja, another Journalist asked him:
Questions. Sir how do you react to the rumour making the rounds that you, Hon Leke Abejide will soon dump your Party, African Democratic Congress (A.D.C) to join and work with Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello’s party, All Progressives Congress (APC)?
His answer: His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and I are not enemies. We are friends in spite of different political affiliations. Don’t forget that we were together in APC before it became imperative for me to contest under my present Party, African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Bello is the Governor of the entire state. He is my Governor. I can visit him. We are in politics together. Why should politics separate us. If you see me in Government House tomorrow, you should not be surprised. That is how to play politics. This does not mean that I have left ADC for APC. I can collaborate with him if there is a need for it especially when it borders on the matter that warrants my asking for dividends of democracy for the people of my constituency. I will go to him. I am at ease with him. It is only ADC and APC that don’t. But Bello and Abejide are friends. I don’t play politics of bitterness.
Yes, he is right. Love for ones’ community should make a good politician to necessarily court the opposition party in a bid to seek dividends of democracy for them as citizens of the state or the country.
This trait of uncommon patriotism is what drives Leke Abejide, “the Love of Yagba Federal Constituency ” as his supporters admiringly call him to tell the world that they love him and that he sits well on the paramount throne in the empire of their hearts.