Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said that if not for lawmakers’ zonal interventions and constituency projects, many communities in the country would not have felt the benefits of democracy.
He stated this while commissioning a 10 Km KvA Extension line rural electrification project, facilitated by House of Representatives member, Ahmed Abubakar Yunusa in Kwali, Yamaltu/ Deba Federal Constituency in Gombe State.
The Speaker also flagged off the distribution of fertilizers provided by the lawmaker to support farmers in his constituency, said a statement from Dogara’s media aide, Turaki Hassan on Sunday.
Mr Dogara said while commissioning the electrification projectthat the importance of electricity to the socio-economic development of the people cannot be over emphasized.
“If you go to all the nooks and crannies of this country, the only visible projects that you will see are the zonal intervention projects embarked upon by either Senators or Hon. Members. If not for the intervention we have from the federal budget, I can assure you that communities like this will not have a single project.
“We are happy that through the ingenuity of members of parliament and the support of the executive, we are able to have zonal interventions that have brought meaningful projects to our constituencies,” he said.
He urged the benefitting communities to make judicious use of the project, to generate employment and create wealth.
“As I commission this project, I want to enjoin you to make good use of it. Light should bring development. Use the light to set up business ventures and engage in entrepreneurship, and by that generate local employment and wealth,” Mr Dogara said.
At the fertilizer distribution ceremony, the Speaker underscored the importance of farming to the socio-economic wellbeing of the people.
He urged well to do individuals to invest in agriculture rather than estates, saying doing that will add more value and help in creating wealth and generating employment among the populace.
While commending the member for providing the fertilizers to farmers in his constituency and for numerous other empowerment initiatives, the Speaker urged them to reciprocate the gesture by supporting the lawmaker in all his endeavors.
“For us, when we see a member doing exceedingly well like Hon. Yunusa has done, it is our duty to support him, it is our duty to help promote him in the sense that we need to have people like him in the House for us to maintain institutional memory. And we need to have people like him who can always speak for Gombe State, for his constituency, the North/ East and Nigeria in General,” the speaker said.
