…Unfolds Manifestoes
The House of Representatives candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency of Anambra State, Chief Tony Iju Nwabunike yesterday took his campaign to his colleagues and business associates in the freight forwarding industry in Lagos where he took time to unfold his plan for the people of his constituency and the maritime industry in Nigeria if he wins the February 16th National Assembly election.
Speaking at the event who had the who is who in the freight forwarding industry and beyond, Nwabunike said that he was in a mission to bring back the good old days to his people, restore the lost glory as well as take the people of the constituency to the next level.
He recalled that the industrious and hardworking Anambra people depended so much on commerce, buying and selling; import and export, manufacturing and distribution adding that about 60% of those importers and industrialists from Anambra state were from the old Nnewi Division which according to him comprised of the present Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo Local Government Areas.
Nwabunike who is also the National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) disclosed that he had been in the maritime sub sector for 31 years and had witnessed firsthand the rise and fall of the people of his constituency as well as how government policies, guidelines and procedures had crippled and impoverished his people.
He regretted that those self-help philanthropic initiatives and healthy competition by benevolent ones were no longer there noting that “the days whereby one trader construct road from one end to another and another trader continues from there is now history”.
“It is not that there are no public spirited individuals but the means are no longer there. The effect of the unfavourable government policy is that these people from my constituency lose billions of Naira of their investment every year. Manufacturers that import raw materials, component units of their products are equally affected, causing them to shut down.
“The result is that my constituency which used to be an affluent society is now being ravaged with poverty with its concomitant unemployment, drug abuse and crimes. I have seen it all in that important sector of our national economy, I will use my experience gathered over the years to ensure stable government policy, guidelines and procedures on import and export”, he added.
He went ahead to unveil his action plan in the Green Chamber if elected to include “to take inventory of constituency projects in the federal constituency and complete uncompleted ones before embarking on new projects. Follow up with constituency projects already in the budget to ensure its implementation while lobbying for more.
“To fight unemployment by organizing our youths into groups, provide collateral and encourage them to take up bankable projects aimed at poverty alleviation. To collaborate with like-minded federal legislators to quicken the process of constitutional amendment that will enthrone true federalism. To encourage our people into farming by promoting Farmers’ Co-operative and by assisting them to access cheap fund and expertise.
“The problem of herdsmen though it is not a menace in our constituency but prevention is better than cure. I am convinced that the problem as well as other security problems can be effectively curtailed by supporting the law for state police”.
Nwabunike who is also a former Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) assured that if elected, he would sponsor bills and ensure their passage on the following areas; laws promoting free enterprise, ease of doing business and removing bottlenecks in clearing of imported goods as his constituency would benefit immensely from this because of their enterprise and resourceful nature, laws prohibiting animals from wondering, prescribing stiff penalty and heavy fines for defaulters as it would help checkmate herdsmen menace.
Others includes laws encouraging blue chip companies to engage in agriculture for their law materials also encourage importation and legislation that will empower women, ensure gender equality thereby solving the inherent problems of widows as well as help the youths to be more productive so as to reduce their dependency on older population.
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