Written By VC Collins
In a bid to bring home the the delivery of good governance to the populace of Benue at the grass root as Nigeria commemorates her 64th Independence anniversary, Hon. Terseer Ugbor, Member representing Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives of the 10th National Assembly has facilitated zonal intervention projects and capital projects worth over N600m from the 2024 Appropriation Act of the Federal Government in advancing the cause of development and has attracted the release of humongous relief materials and the distribution of avalanche of such to the masses, but decries how his efforts to pull the downtrodden out of the woods have been met with stiff resistance and opposition politics from the powers that be in Benue state with the confiscation of a truckload of palliatives by Governor Hycianth Alia meant for his constituency in a build up to the 64th Independence celebration of Nigeria and Christmas holiday for the internally displaced persons.
Hon. Ugbor’s altruistic bent and approach to socio- economic and development strategies comes readily to bear with how he steers effective representative politics at the green Chambers for his constituency as a legislator extraordinaire.
Ugbor opines and holds the Persuasion and position that Nigeria and Benue should attract alternative sources of funding-solutions for development to get out of the state of the current socio-economic quagmire.
In a chat with newsmen ,on the controversy over the diversion of relief materials meant for internally displaced persons (IDPs),Ugbor has engaged a legal team to sue Governor Hyacinth Alia for defamation, stating how unacceptable it remains for the Governor’s undue seizure of a truckload of palliatives he secured from the National Emergency Management Agency,NEMA.
Ugbor is demanding N1 billion in damages. He intends to invest the money in the construction of some estate for the housing needs of the displaced individuals in his constituency, whose relief materials were confiscated by Governor Alia.
Interestingly, whilst Hon.Terseer Ugbor was in attendance at the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA,in the United States, he was informed that Governor Alia had ordered the seizure of a truckload of palliatives whose delivery he had facilitated bound for Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency.
In a media chat,Ugbor disclosed that the relief materials were released in addition by National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA in response to his request for assistance to his constituency.
Ugbor expresses dissatisfaction with the Governor’s actions, insisting that the Benue State Government has gone below the belt by playing politics too far with an intention to sacrifice competence, capacity and drive for development on the altar of political black mail, defamation and assassination of his chararacter.
Ugbor maintained that the confiscation was unwarranted as the palliatives were not offloaded, and the truck was parked in front of a popular warehouse, and not in a private residence.
“My efforts to support the transportation, storage, and distribution of palliatives to displaced individuals in Kwande have been a longstanding commitment. Unfortunately, this has seemingly provoked the governor’s displeasure,” he stated.
Although, a statement from Tersoo Kula, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, says that the truck was caught offloading relief materials at a private residence in Makurdi.
The materials,according to Kula, were released from a National Emergency Management Agency,NEMA warehouse in Jos and should have been lifted and distributed by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
Kula said, the Benue State governor expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the relief materials thereby ordering the truck to be impounded at Government House, calling for the investigation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) in this matter.
Ugbor is poised for a show down with Governor Alia in court to clear his name and deliver the relief materials to the masses it was meant for.
Inspite of the conflicts,contradictions and opposition politics confronting Hon.Ugbor, Fellow of the Professional Leadership Institute ,who holds a first degree in Sociology from the University of Abuja, he shines like a million star in translating the yearnings and aspirations of the electorate into tangible realities as he brings into fruition the mandate of the good people of Kwande-Ushongo Federal Constituency with his altruistic walk with humanity in parliament through many of his constituency projects for community development.
Hon. Ugbor has minced no words in describing Governor Alia’s disposition to leadership as hostile and stiff for development of Benue.
He disclosed that there is a regrettable “climate of political hostility” under Governor Alia’s administration, lamenting that in other states, such efforts would have been met with gratitude, not suspicion.
In upholding and advancing his mandate for an effective representation of the good people of Kwande/ Ushongo Federal Constituency and Benue state, Hon Ugbor calls for unity, inclusion and positive engagement amongst all leaders in the state without hinderance for rapid economic and political development of the state.
He called on his constituents to remain peaceful in the face of adversity, quoting Psalm 30:5: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Without fail, Hon. Terseer Ugbor has left no one in doubt about his competence and capacity to effectively and efficiently deliver in his first time as a legislator.
Hon. Ugbor’s midas touch in driving the mandate of the good people of Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency comes in readily as he has set up a state of the art constituency office to shore up access to his constituents for effective representation. This he achieved in less than 3 months in office.
Hon.Terseer Ugbor’s altruistic walk with humanity in parliament knows no bounds as he has set up an annual Scholarship Scheme for outstanding, gifted and indigent students in Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency .
In giving filip to his development strides for the masses, the skill acquisition program embedded in Hon. Terseer Ugbor’s constituency office brings to the fore Terseer Ugbor’s dynamism as a leadership practitioner intervening in shoring up capacity and sources of livelihoods for the good people of Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency past only one year in office.
In commemorating Nigeria’s independence past his first year in office, Ugbor, the indefatigable legislator, whilst continuing on the projects to improving the sources of livelihoods of the masses, as the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Environment, an environment and energy enthusiast, has pledge d not to slow up, or slow down, neither let up, nor let down in his resolve to improve the environment and habitating conditions of his constituents with the provision of water, rural electrification and culverts construction for his constituents of Kwande/Ushongo, he has tagged ‘Connected Development for Kwande/ Ushongo Federal Constituency.
It’s no wonder why, some school of thought posits that, Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency would not have had, more timely, a stellar approach to an ‘Altruistic Walk with Humanity in Parliament’ than the emergence of Hon. Terseer Ugbor, Africa’s rising leadership star.
Little wonder, he remains apart, as one legislator whose appointment as the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee on Students Loans and Access to Higher Education came shortly after his inauguration into the House of Representatives where he gave voice to the voiceless with that nation-building task.
Hon. Terseer Ugbor is convinced that the Students Loan Program of the Tinubu Presidency of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ will become a relieving experience for the Nigerian students and parents, and not just a hope for his constituents of Kwande/Ushongo and Benue state in general.
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