Why Mpigi Can’t Return As Senator For Rivers South East -Ogoni Youth Leader
4 min read
Edith CHUKU
Despite accolades rained on Senator Barry Mpigi, the representative of the Rivers South East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, many have faulted his representation and are of the view that he needs to give way for someone else.
Some Ogoni youths have described the PDP flagbearer for the senatorial seat of Rivers South East Senatorial District, Rivers State, in the forthcoming election, as a failure.
In their opinion, Mpigi has done absolutely nothing in the areas of development, human capacity building. They claimed that the senator is completely inaccessible and also has never lend his voice to raise nor support matters bordering on the Ogoni Clean Up Exercise as a legislature.
They believe that the only track record the senator has is that he is feared by many, which they claimed earned him the nickname ‘Don Jazzy.’
Speaking with TNN in an exclusive interview, National President, South-South Youth Initiative SSYI, Imeabe Saviour Oscar, said “How accessible are our leaders by the generality of everybody?
“He is not accessible, at the same time he cannot be reached, he is not helping anybody in the Rivers South East Senatorial District, developmentally he has failed, human capacity building he has failed, legislature wise he has failed, in all ramification you cannot give him a pass mark in any way, is such person supposed to return?
“Someone without a tracking record, rather, the only record he has is that he is a stubborn person, the only record he has is that people are afraid of him, if you go close to him you will die, the only record of him is that if you match his leg you will not see the next day, is that supposed to be a record for us to return him?
“It is time for the electorate to decide who becomes the next president, the next senator, who becomes the next house of assembly member, the next governor, it is time for us to use our electoral mandate and that is why we are campaigning that a leader that has failed we will go publicly to tell him that he has failed, not minding that we are in same senatorial district.
“Senator Barry Mpigi has never been the choice of the people, and will never be because from the beginning his position has never been the position of the people. This is a man that was a former local government chairman of Tai local government. He was also elected as the chairman based on the manipulation of the Nigeria system of politics, unfortunately this same man was not accessible by anybody, he was not even given room for accommodation.
“Sen. Barry Mpigi is someone we have always seen to be a Don Jazzy, we call him Don Jazzy, because he never has the good people of Rivers South East Senatorial District at heart, he has no good intention for the people of Rivers South East and we cannot vote him in again.”
He debunked claims that the senator has empowered youths of the senatorial district. “Those persons that are making emphasis on his developmental drive what did they mention as one of those things he has done for the people of Rivers South East?
“You said 25 youths were selected across the senatorial district, trained, certified and kitted, as well as empowered. Let’s look at it from this perspective, 25 persons which I am saying there is nothing like 25 persons, but let’s just accept there is 25 persons, does it guarantee him to return back as a senator? No, he is a total failure.
“The challenge is that people term to channel their support based on political sentiment, we are not looking at political parties, we have grown beyond that, we are looking at the credibility of a candidate and supporting the candidate, Rivers South East Senatorial District cannot be left out of it. You are saying that Sen. Barry Mpigi has empowered people, that is what you heard, I am not speaking as a novice, I am a citizen, an indigene of Rivers South East Senatorial District, I am from Khana local government, where this same senator represents, I am not speaking as an outsider, so, if I speak, I speak based on the opinion of the people, not personal opinion, not my opinion.”
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