By Christiana Alawa/Archibong Jeremiah, House of Assembly Correspondent
The member representing Ogoja State Constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. Peter Odey has thrown his weight behind the signature projects of the state Governor Senator Ben Ayade.
Hon. Odey who barred his mind in an exclusive interview with CrossRiverWatch in his Calabar office also commended CrossRiverWatch for what he described as a good job. His words: “I will like to encourage you guys, I read your paper most times and on Facebook and on the website; your job may not be recognized now, but keep doing it, soon when people want to get information about Cross River State people will refer them to CrossRiverWatch”.
Speaking about his agenda in the House, Hon. Odey said “My agenda is not different from the legislative agenda of the House; I want to speak for the good people of Ogoja and the state at large, we want to see to a difference in infrastructure, highways and all the governor’s signature projects. We want to see that the people of Ogoja tap into this, we want to create jobs for the people of Ogoja”, he said.
Peter who is the Chairman, House Committee on Due Process, Millennium Development Goals, International Donor Support and Inter Government/Public Affairs said, what is peculiar in his intention to represent his people is that “I have been in the political arena but the agenda has not been different, the collective will of the people of Ogoja should be heard, Ogoja is one of the oldest local governments in the state, but if you go to Ogoja today, there is absence of the basic things which we should have apart from few areas that are connected to health facilities, people that are into farming, what can the government do to help them? What is the government doing to encourage them to do big farming and job creation? They should not be left out of it.
“We have to ensure that we create as much jobs as possible for our people. And encourage them to be involved in productive activities. This is not going to be a one man project, it is going to be a collective project to see that we can take Ogoja from where it is today to where we want it to be. After my university education in University of Calabar, I went abroad for further studies to improve myself, after working in the UK; I came back to Nigeria where I got engaged in national development projects. I have worked in many international agencies, and I want to bring that experience here. So my back ground has been on project developments, I was part of the group that was associated with the settlement of South Sudan”.
He also had a word of advice for young Cross Riverians: “I have a code in my life, I believe that nothing comes to you, you have to go there and get it, from the streets of Ogoja where I grew up, it’s been hard work, and I encourage young people to work hard. Before I came here, I have tried and failed, I contested for chairman of Ogoja at a very young age, I didn’t win, I came back again in 2011 for this position I still did not make it, but I kept going back to upgrade my educational qualifications, and when this opportunity came again, I gave it a shot. The bottom line is, if you try and loose, you try again. The most important thing is, the people of Ogoja found me worthy to serve them, and now that I have been given this position, I will know the choices to make to represent them effectively.
“We are trying to see an industrialized state, that’s why we are talking about the garment factory, sea port and the rest. I see Cross River in the next four years as a state going beyond tourism; people will come here not just to see the streets of Calabar but to do business”. He concluded.
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