RESIDENTS of Igbo Ora, Igangan, Idere, Ayete and scores of other communities in Ibarapa Central/Ibarapa North Federal Constituency will not forget Thursday, January 25, 2024 in a hurry.
That auspicious Thursday was a day like no other for residents of the constituency; the day that their own son and immediate past member of the House of Representatives, Dr Ajibola Saubana Muraina, set apart to bring smiles to constituents’ faces.
With the distribution of empowerment items worth about N200 million, Dr Muraina changed the stories of thousands of households and set them free from shackles of economic hardship in the country.
Hundreds of beneficiaries who converged on the Olawunmi Agbeke Gardens, Ayeteju, Igbo Ora, went away with 400 grinding machines, 100 motorcycles and six tricycles popularly known as ‘keke NAPEP’, commending Muraina for what they described as a timely and far-reaching empowerment.
Many of them noted with joy that the items will not only help them to shore up their incomes at this trying times but that they will also help to secure the future for them and their children.
One of the recipients of the items, Mrs Shakiru Zainab, who got a grinding machine, expressed joy, stating that Dr Muraina’s empowerment was thoughtful and timely for her.
According to Lukman Alayande of Ward 3, Idere, who got a Keke NAPEP, Muraina has, over the years, always been a source of joy to his constituents.
Other recipients, who spoke with Nigerian Tribune, expressed happiness with Dr. Muraina, who they severally described as a leader with a difference and a friend of the masses.
Similarly, political leaders and stakeholders in Muraina’s political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) such as Hon. Shittu Iliasu Ololade, a former chairman of Ibarapa North Local Government, from Ayete, were also full of praises for the former lawmaker. He noted that though Dr. Muraina has always taken the welfare and well-being seriously as shown in previous empowerment programmes, the 2024 empowerment programme “is unprecedented and magnificent.”
Hon. Sharafa Olaoniye a.k.a Bibiire also said that residents of Ibarapa have benefited more from Dr. Muraina than anyone else who represented them in the National Assembly. He charged residents who got empowerment items to make judicious use of them.
He said: “Hon. Muraina is not the only person that has represented Ibarapa Central/Ibarapa North at the National Assembly, but let me say without mincing words that a lot of our people have benefited from him more than any other person who has represented us at the National Assembly. He has been doing it before now but I want to make it crystal clear that this empowerment programme is the biggest we have ever had. Though he has organised this kind of empowerment not once, twice or three times, when you see the number of materials here today; grinding machines, motorcycles, Keke NAPEP, then you will agree with me that this is monumental.”
Muraina, a Doctor of Law and three-term Member of the House of Representatives, like the Odu vegetable in Yoruba mythology being well-known to farmers, has been renowned for empowering the people and offering excellent representation since he was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2007.
From sponsoring epochal Bills to facilitating employments for hundreds of constituents and attracting capital-intensive and highly-impactful projects such as the Electricity Transmission Projects including the 2K30W40MVA, 132/33 KV Substation in Lanlate, the 2X60MVA 132/33 KV Substation at Igangan and the 132 KV Switching Station at Igbo Ora, among others, Muraina has set a high standard as an excellent representative.
Thursday’s ground-shattering event has further shown the former Chairman of the House of Representatives on Petroleum (Upstream) as a lover of his people and that no matter the situation, he would not abandon them or jettison efforts that can bring development to Ibarapaland.
Indeed, he had this to say: “My commitment to my people has always been in and out of office. I was in the sixth assembly between 2007 and 2011. I was also lucky to also be in the seventh assembly, which was from 2011 to 2015. I was not re-elected in 2015 but throughout that period of my stay outside the National Assembly, to the glory of God, I still got so many employment opportunities for my people. I also empowered them in this manner, so this is not the first time that this has happened.
“Between 2019 and 2023, I got the ticket back, but some events happened, and I am out again, so it is not news that I am outside and I am doing this. It has always been a part of me, whether I am in the office or outside. I believe that the development of my people is important, and their progress is key too, and whatever I can do to better their lots, I must always do it.”
“You can also see the feeling that the country is so hard; so if you put smiles on the faces of people with the little that you have and you spread it to them, they would also be happy, and the society would be better. I am happy, and I feel elated. I thank Almighty Allah, who has given me the opportunity and resources to put smiles on the faces of these people. I also appreciate them because whether I am outside the office or inside, you can see that they are always with me; they are always my people, and I feel very comfortable in their midst.”
The former lawmaker also used the opportunity of the programme to admonish residents of Ibarapaland not to yield themselves to plots by some elements to keep the zone perpetually underdeveloped by conspiring to block Ibarapa’s sons from attaining positions of greatness in politics.
and then