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Another feather on Ada Anioma’s headgear

By Our ReporterDec 03, 2021, 15:40 pm0

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By Charles Okogene

Her real name is Hon Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor; she vied into politics after her role as one of the aides of the then Delta State Deputy Governor, Benjamin Elue. That was between 1999 and 2007.

When she was done with that, rather than wait for another appointive post, she threw her cap into the elective arena hitherto dominated by the male folks; most especially in Anioma ethnic nationality where she hails from and where women are wrongly ‘ looked down’ on as second class citizens. She defeated other male challengers at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary. As if that was not enough, she went into the main election and floored other parties’ candidates to emerge, perhaps the first woman to represent the people of Aniocha South State Constituency and gave them purpose driven representation for two tenures. This the beginning of Mrakpor’s trakjotary in politics

Mrakpor

After her two terms of eight years at the state legislature, she decided that it was time to up her ante. That it was time to go national and in 2015, she threw her cap into the ring again and sought her people’s nod to represent them at the federal level – the house of representatives when the then incumbent, Honourable Ndudi Elumelu, sought to govern the state. Again, like in 2007, she won and was in the hallow chamber for four years. It was her outstanding performance at both state and federal legislature that earned her the befitting title of Ada Anioma, which is now threatening to take over her real name that was given to her at birth. For the four years she spent as a lawmaker, development and opening up of her constituency, was Ada Anioma’s watchword. Under her constituency project, she spread development to all nooks and crannies of her constituency, like a farmer feeding her chicken with corns, even this writer’s village market that was long neglected by subsquent governments of the state, both military and civilian, was not only relocated to a spacious site, but upgraded. This is aside other impactful motions she moved on the floor of the house.

Onyemaechi Joan Mrakpor

This same spirit of moving impactful motions and providing infrastructures that makes life worth living, was what she took to the house of representatives.

As a honourable member of the green chamber. The list of some of the motions she sponsored for the four years she was there are thus:

The Nigerians in Diaspora Bill that was signed into law in 2017.It brought about the establishment of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission now headed by Abike Dabiri-Elewa, and that provides for the engagement of Nigerians in Diaspora in the policies, projects and P

participation in the development of Nigeria and for the purposes of utilizing the human, capital and material resources of Nigerians in Diaspora towards the overall socio-economic, cultural and political fevelopment of Nigeria; and for other matters.

She was behind the Security Service Welfare Infrastructure Development Bill.
It went through second reading. The bill seeks to provide welfare for Nigerian security agents who are often posted to different parts of the country where most often they are left without shelter, food, change of uniform, and even when they pick up injury or die in active service they are not adequately compensated.

She also sponsored the following bills

The National Council on Elderly Persons Bill.
A bill that was at its committee stage before she left, this unique Bill looks at social welfare and care for the elderly and senior citizens of the country. After retirement, what next? In most cases, retirees are abandoned to their fate and to the mercy of their children. There is no state sponsored Healthcare programme to cater for their unavoidable age related sicknesses. The bill seeks to provide a social welfare package for them.

The National Youth Service CORPS (NYSC) Bill. This bill has gone through second reading, gone to the committee stage.

Other landmark projects she intiated and executed in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency are, Commprehensive Health Centre Issele-Uku, fully equipped.

Comprehensive Health Centre Idumuje Ugboko.

Portable Water Project, Ezi.

Supply of modern Healthcare equipment to Primary Health Centre Issele-Mkpitime.

Portable Water Project located at Kwale Junction Ogwashi-Uku.

Construction of seven classroom blocks at St Anthony’s Model College, Ubulu-Uku.

Comprehensive Health Centre Ogwashi-Uku.

Seven classroom blocks at Ngwu Mixed Secondary School, Ogwashi-Uku.

Rehabilitation of Ubulu Primary School Ubulu-Uku.

Garri Processing Factory Ejeme, fully equipped with equipment that completes processing of cassava, as it peels, grinds and fries.

Garri Processing Factory Ubulu-Uku, fully equipped with equipment that completes processing of cassava, as it peels, grinds and fries.

Comprehensive Health Centre Nsukwa.

Bio-Resource Research And Development Centre Ubulu-Uku that was ongoing then.

Attraction of Erosion control project at Idumu-Osigbudu Road, Ubulu-Uku.

Palm Oil Processing Plant at Akwukwu Igbo, fully equipped.

Skills Acquisition Centre, Ilah.

Construction of seven classroom blocks at Umejei Primary School Ibusa.

Portable water project in Ebu

Portable water project in Akwukwu Igbo

Oshimili South L.G.A.

Osadennis Computer Building, Asaba, equipped with with 30 pcs of Computer.

Comprehensive Health Centre Oko, fully equipped.

Cottage Hospital, staff quarters and Mortuary Bonsac, New Asaba.

500kva transformer, installed in Asaba.

Mini grid electricity project at Ogwa Ukwu Asaba.

Youth Empowerment And Social Welfare Packages Including:

Scholarship award to over 20 indigent students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
Social welfare package for the old, physically challenged, homeless and the needy which has remained one of the hallmarks of my 3 years in office.
3. Employment generation through skills acquisition, direct employment and through numerous referrals among others too numerous to list here

The zonal intervention projects that really set her apart from her contemporaries that are indelible at the Federal medical Centre, Asaba are as follows

It is on record that the Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, Dr. Victor Osiatuma, unveiled a list of massive zonal intervention projects accomplished in the hospital by Hon Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor, a former House of Representatives member, who represented Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency between 2015 and 2019.

The two massive projects, which were ongoing as at that time include, a two storey building designed to serve as a Modern Amenity Ward in the hospital and a gigantic three-storey building, with 40 apartments, all en suite, to serve as staff quarters.
Recently, when Mrs. Mrakpor who is currently the Director General of Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency (DSCTDA), visited the hospital to see some sickle cell patients, Dr. Osiatuma, made mention of the two projects.

In the entire Aniocha/Oshimili state constituency, the footprints or legacy of Mrakpor cannot be wiped away so easily.

Mrakpor who trained as a journalist at the prestigous journalism school in Nigeria, the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ) Lago, from the look of things, is not about putting a stop to her passion for development of the entity called Anioma. What she is doing as the Director General of Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency (DSCTDA) in making sure that Asaba, the capital city wears a look befitting a state capital; though, right now, the law does not allow her as the director general of Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency (DSCTDA), to extend her hand of development beyond Asaba and its capital development area but is not surprising to those that have followed her odyssey in partisan politics closely. And members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists Independent Television (ITV) and Radio Chapel, Benin City are among those that have followed her religiously and have singled her out from the numerous appointees of Governor Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, for the award of Most Impactful Appointee of the Year Delta State. The ceremony will take place tomorrow in Benin City. Other high net worth personalities and corporate Nigerians have also been penciled down for an award too.

What makes the Ada Anioma award unique is that it is coming far away from home, it is not coming from any organisation in the Anioma nation or from Delta State, meaning that the news of all her developmental contributions, have spread far and wide.

Indeed as Ada Anioma files out to receive her plaque, we say this is ‘ ada ne eli ukwu ewu’ (princess that eats goat waist as the saying goes in Igboland) in whom we are well pleased.

….With additional reports from Pius Mordi, a time test journalist

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