Okigwe Senatorial Bye Election: Why Omegara Should Be Allowed (Part One)

By Peter Dibia  (08137847696) 

A true leader is valued based on his past or present performance, many can attest to this. 

      

 Imo state is one of the most talked about state all over Nigeria as a result of it's style of politics which is commonly felt in all the federation. Going further, Imo is made of three zone,  Orlu, Okigwe and Owerri. Going by LGAs,  Orlu has 12 local government,  Okigwe 6 local government while Owerrri is left with 9 local government respectively.

 

This three zone have representatives both in red chamber and green chamber of the National Assembly. It a well known fact that any zone which is not represented in National Assembly,  is assumed to be missing out of some  government benefits which include road projects, employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths,  National politices and others. 

In Imo state,  for instance,  Orlu is respresented by APC chieftain senator Rochas Okorocha,  in Owerrri a stunch PDP Senator Ezinwa Francis Onyewuchi, while in Okigwe the seat was declared vacant as a result of the death  of most distinguished and respected son from Ihite-Uboma senator Benjamin Uwajumogu, as such bye election should take place in the zone. 

Chief Mathew Omegara

Many is of the opinion that among  the line up seen and read in pages of newspaper, about all the frontliners in the race, Chief  Mathew Omegara, a two term member of Federal House Represntatives, who effectively and pragmatically represented the  good people of Okigwe North  Federal Constituency, should be allowed to represent Okigwe in the red chamber.  As a two term house member,  Omegara performed beyond human imaginations which  aimed him many chieftainacy titles.

Having come from Okigwe zone precisely Okigwe South of Obowo,Ehime mbano and Ihite Uboma while Okigwe North comprised of  Isiala mbano,Okigwe and Onuimo L.G.A's.All the local Governments in Okigwe zone have gone to the Senate except Okigwe and Onuimo L.G.A's.While Okigwe South  has bountifully been in the Senate,Okigwe North sparingly has been in the senate only representatives from Isiala Mbano.Today the s speaker of IMO State House of Assembly, Dr.  Chiji Collins and a Federal house member,  Princess Miriam Onuoha are from Isiala Mbano. 

During the last elections, it was the turn of Okigwe but Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu came from Ihite-Uboma and in the same party with Chief Mathew Omegara,  but it also said in Igbo language , k'ama anum ga gba La'ha ma' e gbu  bie ya o'du, that was what happened,  when Chief Omegara supported in totally late Banjamin Uwajumogu for senate while sacrificing alot towards his emergence as the senator respresenting Okigwe zone at the federal level. 

It was a heart breaking news, when the death of late senator Benjamin Uwajumogu was announced,  this made some of his well wishers including Chief Mathew Omegara wept like a baby,  asking death why but who are we to question God.

After the Remains of late senator Benjamin Uwajumogu was committed to the mother earth,  his seat was declared vacant.

Owing to the alluded points , the battle of who will replace late Ben, in Okigwe at the red chamber is on going. Okigwe ndi Oma,  it will be unprofessional and unethical if we allow immediate benefits from all those splashing money on us,  if we fail to allow chief Mathew Omegara to be the one to represent Okigwe at the red chamber. 

   

Let me at this juncture,  talk about a little I have gathered about Chief Omegara which I will like you all to know. 

  

Based on my findings , Hon Sir Mathew M  Omegara is a Knight of Saint Mulumba and Papal Knight of Sylvester, an investiture by Pope Francis, is a native of Umuokpara, Okigwe LGA. A child of destiny, Hon Omegara passed through the crucibles of orphanage, house help to relations, family and friends, apprenticeship in various trades to eventual player in global logistics. Inland & Overseas Nigeria Limited was the flagship of his announcement in the business world. 

This venture brought him fame and fortune. He managed to attend secondary and tertiary education by self effort on part time basis while grappling with the challenges of orphanage.  Simply put,  Hon Mathew Omegara was a child of circumstances who grew up without father and mother but his faith in God and hard work today has distinguished him among his contemporaries.

  

 Interestly,  His trajectory in leadership commenced with peace initiatives within his Amaikpa hamlet and the larger Umuokwara Community in the late 1980s to early 1990s. By early to late 1990s, Mathew had become a rallying point for Okigwe people in Lagos where he presided over Okigwe Town Union for over half a decade as president while he exhited a good leadership qualities. 

Hon Mathew Omegara's interest and participation in partisan politics commenced in 2002 when he declared and registered with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with an eye on the Federal House of Representatives in the  year, 2003. He entered for the PDP primaries in 2003 and defeated the incumbent, late Hon Maurice Ibekwe for Okigwe North Federal Constituency. 

  

He however,  backed down following persuasion by the principal leaders of the zone including Distinguished Senator Godwin Ifeanyi Araraume on the ground and doctrine of equity and dual term rotational principle. 

Hon Omegara was back on the bloc again in 2007 under the same party, PDP. This time around, it was a clean sweep for him. Thus, he represented Okigwe, Onuimo and Isiala Mbano Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011. It was indeed a progressive four years. Again in 2011, Hon Omegara contested for the same post on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)  a Yoruba party and most unlikely platform for Southeast politicians. While many saw it as political madness, others felt he was in for self destruction. But against all expectations, Hon Mathew Omegara won the election. Thus, he became the only one in Imo State to win election to the National Assembly on a platform adjudged Yoruba and most unlikely to fly in the east and it remained so till the merger of ACN and CPC in 2014 to form APC. 

Ever since then,  he has remained in the party while others are seen jumping from one party to another. This was a feat that manifested his savvy and adroit capacity to bear on the entire National political space. His influence thus became cathartic. 

Many will agree with me that,  the essence of political representation especially at the Federal level, be it elective or appointment, is largely to give voice to the electorate from whom power is derived in a democracy and more importantly, to attract socio-economic development to the grassroots for the benefit of the masses. 

However, the unfortunate practice by some politicians has been to include constituency projects in the National budgets during appropriation and later connive with dubious contractors during budget implementation to share the monetary value of such projects and abandon the sites.  

Can we continue to have those as leaders?  I will leave you to answer that. 

This has been a contentious issue between the executive and legislative arms of government in our clime over time. 

In a rare demonstration of political sagacity and sheer commitment to leaving his footprints on the sands of time, Hon Mathew Omegara more than surpassed every elected NASS representative, Senatorial or House of Reps of Okigwe extraction, both before and after him, using every available indices as yardstick. Let us look at the inventory of roads and rural electrification projects attracted by this illustrious son to the three Local Government Areas of the Okigwe North Federal Constituency which speaks volumes of him. 

  It is on record worth of verification,  that Hon Omegara put the following roads on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) roadmap and saw to the completion of over 90% of them within the eight years period of his two tenures. These include Ugiri Umuopara Road, Ezinnachi Daily Market Road,  Ope Road, Umueze - Umukaoke Road, St. Theresa's - Umuezegem Road, Aku Road, Ndi Uche Aro Ofeimo Road, Okwele - Alaike - Umucheke Road,  Umualumoke - Umualaoma - Nzerem Ikpem Road. This Road was originally meant for Ishiokwe - Umukabia - Ikpem but was wrongly diverted through Umualumoke. 

The value of these Road works runs in hundreds of billions of naira attracted to Okigwe Zone through legislative experience and political savvy.