Labour Party candidate for Delta North senatorial district in the 2023 general election, Hon. Kennedy Kanma, has pledged to be accountable to the people of Delta North when he eventually emerges winner in the general elections. Hon. Kanma will be contesting against Prince Ned Nwoko of the PDP and incumbent Senator Peter Nwaoboshi of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
In an interview with journalists in Ogwashi Uku, Hon. Kanma said Senators who have represented the zone over the years have not been accountable to the people of Delta North. He believes that accountability is the hall mark of representation, noting that the Senator representing a people must seek the good of the people and defend their interest.
Hon. Kanma, a lawyer, frowned at two critical issues in Anioma land where sitting and previous senators have not been accountable to the people, and for him it is a failure on the part of the senators. He said the people’s interest should be in the front burner and the senator representing the zone must not sit with hands akimbo when things in his constituency are going wrong.
He particularly frowned at contracts awarded in the zone and are left uncompleted and the senators in the national assembly join the contractors to abandon the project. To him, such is an aberration. He said immediately a contract is awarded, it becomes the duty of the senator to follow it up and ensure it is executed according to specification.
He said: “I sometimes look at what government does for my senatorial district. They award contracts, but these contracts do not get done. I believe that when government has awarded contracts, the government has done its job. It is the duty of the senator to sit on the neck of the contractor to ensure the project is executed.
“This is because if it is done, it is for the good of his people. Anybody the executive decides to give the contract to is immaterial but once the senator says you must do it, you must do it. If I’m a senator and you are given a contract in Delta North, better do it because I can assure you that you cannot get away with it.”
Hon. Kanma pointed at the dam between Aniocha South and Oshimili North. He faulted the senators who have been in the senate but the dam has remained uncompleted. According to him, available reports indicate that the dam has been completed but investigation shows that the dam has not been completed. But the present and previous senators failed to take it upon themselves to ensure it is completed and becomes functional.
“If you stay in Ogwashi Uku, you will see that we have a major federal government job, the dam between Aniocha and Oshimili. If you look at it, you will see that it has been declared completed but not completed. How can a project be said to have been completed when it has not been completed?
“I asked around and I got different responses. It is the duty of the senator, having evaluated the fact that it has not been completed, whatever the reason, the senator should put it back into the budget. He must ensure that it provides what it is meant to provide that is when the dam can be deemed completed,” Hon. Kanma said.
He also looked at Ndokwa nation, the area that produces power for the nation and lamented that despite the huge electricity that is generated from Ndokwa land, most communities surrounding the area have no electricity supply to them. He is pained that Ndokwa land is neglected but it has representatives at the national assembly.
Hear him: “I entered Ndokwa area a couple of weeks ago. I was told that for almost a year the area has not got light but Ndokwa provides light for the rest of the country. This has been happening and our people keep quiet about it. How can we provide light for others and we don’t have light in our place? No, it cannot be. These are the things I see our former representatives are not looking at.
“They have to look at it. That is why we sent them there. That is what we are supposed to be doing. If our people are actually up and doing, they cannot allow light to be taken from our place and leave us in darkness. You should take light but you can’t leave us in darkness. It has to be done. If they don’t want to do it then they should not give anybody light. A senator is supposed to sit down and ensure it gets done.
“There are places in Ndokwa where government presence is just to extract. But if you extract anything from our place, you need to return something to our place. There are so many places that have been cut out. There are some places in Ndokwa east you cannot enter by road except you go round and round before you can access them. This is a place where government is extracting oil, that is wrong. That is an aberration. If you are taking something from our place you should return something to our place.
“In the Anioma nation, there are several places you have challenges of light. We believe we have grown beyond that level where they give us light two hours a day, three hours a day, whatever the problem, it has a solution. The problem has to be tackled until solution is provided. If the government is focused on ensuring this thing works it must work.”
Hon. Kanma is poised to address all these anomalies if the people of Anioma land gives him the mandate to represent them. He is ready to confront the powers in charge and liberate Ndokwa and by extension Anioma people. One thing special about him is that he has not stained his hands with the corruptions in government.
