Why Okigwe people want the One-arm General

In the run up to the February 20 rerun election into the Nigerian Senate in Okigwe Senatorial Zone of Imo State, the majority of Okigwe people appear to have made up their minds about where to cast their lot between Senator Athan Nneji Achonu, aka the One-arm General and Mr Ben Uwajumogu.

The reasons why public opinion favours Achonu are not farfetched. In his six months in the Senate before the Court of Appeal annulled his election and ordered a rerun, the One-arm General made some remarkable achievements.

On the lips of practically every Okigwe indigene is;
1. The growing prominence and respect for Okigwe Zone in the Senate since Athan Nneji Achonu got there.

2. The four bills sponsored by the One-arm General under 6 months in the Senate; a) Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2015 ; b) Mining and Solid Minerals Act 2007 Amendment Bill 2015 ; c) Petroleum Act Amendment Bill 2015 ; Federal Republic of Nigeria Alteration Bill 2015.

3. Biannual medical missions and integrated health support.

4. 68 scholarships awarded to deserving Okigwe sons and daughters by Athan Nneji Achonu.

5. Constituency Projects: Under the 2015 Appropriation Bill, Senator Achonu attracted some intervention projects to empower Okigwe people.
These include the provision of 30 units of multi-kva generators, grains milling machines,  block moulding machines, computers and accessories and one mini bus.

To add to all these, the One-arm General has promised better healthcare, sustainable agriculture and 272 scholarships into tertiary institutions over the next four years if elected.

On the other hand, Okigwe people are at a loss as to what Hon Uwajumogu did for the people in all his years as the Speaker of Imo House of Assembly.

So Okigwe people are seeking answers to two nagging question which are:
1. If Governor Rochas Okorocha could pocket Uwajumogu as the head of the legislative arm of government in Imo State, how would the same Uwajumogu not likewise be pocketed in far away Abuja?

2. How could an Uwajumogu who hardly spoke a word in two tenures as a legislator in Imo State go to Abuja to speak for Okigwe people?