Idongesit Ntekpere: The quest for a higher calling
Legislative business is not a tea party. It’s not a job for just anybody who feels he must also jump into the fray for the sake of it. It’s not a business for every Tom, Dick and Harry.
It’s no wonder that voters now ensure that those they queue behind at polling centres are people with proven proficiency in handling the delicate task of making laws for them.
More often than not, when people who should decide through their votes and insist on those that should be at the Parliament to represent the collective interest of a greater number of people fail to make the right choice, they are always the ones who bear the brunt arising from the wrong choices they made.
Little wonder therefore that the people of Ikot Ekpene Federal constituency have vowed to to keep faith with Rt. Hon. Idongesit Ntekpere whom they say, is a lawmaker par excellence, a father to many and leader with a listening ear.
The people are of the view that Ntekpere is a man they can trust with their votes given what they have described as his unparalleled antecedents.
Ntekpere, many opine, is a fine legislator who knows his onion. He’s not a taciturn or what we describe jocularly as a “siddon look,” lawmaker; but he’s one whose voice is often loudly and eloquently heard in the legislative house making very useful contributions and laws that sit well with his constituents.
Other than his stellar performances especially in the sixth and seventh assemblies, Idongesit Ntekpere has always put smiles on the faces of his constituents, either through building and furnishing business outlets for them or empowering them with cash and other items that help ease whatever challenges they may be facing as a people.
He has always taken the welfare of his people seriously. He is a man who has at various times empowered his People in many ways that are innumerable.
In one of those empowerment programmes, he had doled out cash, cars and more to his constituents.
That gesture, needless to say, remains unprecedented in legislative engagements. He has embarked severally on the same gesture in what has since become a pastime of sorts for the Ikot Ekpene born politician.
Speaking at the occasion, the lawmaker who said the gesture was borne out of his zeal to give the people a sustainable source of livelihood, noted, in emphatic terms, that the empowerment of his people will be a continuous exercise. This and more are the reasons he has the backing of the elders, men and women of the federal constituency.
For those who aren’t aware, it is important to note that traders, in what was simply a heartwarming gesture, had their shop rents settled by the lawmaker for 6 years and 3 months to enable them break even. The lease is N250, 000 per annum. Multiplied by 21 people, this amounts to a whopping sum of N5.250M.
This gesture has continued to reverberate across the the constituency with many pouring endless encomiums on the man whose magnanimous heart has brought remarkable joy to the people of Ikot Ekpene/Obot Akara State Constituency. Now, they want to have him in the green chamber because they trust he will do more.
Both local governments could not have wished for a better legislator at a time like now. At any rate, they have enjoyed, in no small measure, the benefits and dividends of democracy that should accrue to a people. One is not surprised therefore that they have taken a stand ahead of the PDP primaries.
The people are unanimous in their support for Hon. Idongesit Ntekpere; a man that has been tested and confirmed to be a man of his word – a man with an egalitarian fervour and irrepressible capacity for excellence and a seasoned legislator.
It could also be recalled that on the 14th of December, 2017, Rt. Hon. Idongesit Ntekpere rolled out the drums to mark what many political pundits described as the “mother of all constituency briefings”. He splashed several empowerment packages on the people, including a slew of cars, mini buses, tricycles, motorcycles, generators and lots more to the constituents. Their excitement knew no bound as they headed home with their items in tow.
In more ways than one, Rt. Hon. Ntekpere has shown exemplary leadership acumen that has rubbed off positively on his constituents. May 22 is upon the people. And in a reciprocal manner, delegates will be waiting stoutly at their polling centres to vote for a more prosperous and fruitful season for the good people of Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency under the able and visionary representation in the person of a man with the Midas touch, Rt. Hon. Idongesit Ntekpere.
