By Sunday Chukwudi
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi’s legislative success and agenda-setting in Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber is well-known. This lawmaker from Ibusa, who represented Delta North Senatorial District in the 7th and 8th senate, gained a reputation as a remarkable parliamentarian in just a few months in the red chamber. Nwaoboshi, the quintessential legislator who served his people and Nigeria diligently for about seven years, changed the course of representation in the senate with his courage and knowledge of parliamentary proceedings. During those crucial years in the assembly, he reached new heights, built bridges of cooperation and brought succor and comfort to many Nigerian homes, especially his constituents. For those who remember, Nwaoboshi actually walked in honour in his years in the hollowed chamber where he left a mark. And he will always be remembered as an informed and competent legislator who understood lawmaking, oversight, constitutional amendment and control over budget. So, it will be difficult to forget in a hurry, his achievements in the senate. He was not only a mediator and an advocate, he also took time to explain the provisions and effects of his many legislations. Without a doubt, this senator is made of a sterner stuff, a trait that he manifested in his
Supreme Court quashes Nwaoboshi’s conviction for N.85bn money laundering case early months and through his years as a senator. Today, he is still remembered and appreciated for all he did for his people, from motions and bills, to empowerment, infrastructural facilities and his willingness always, to lend an ear to his people. For instance, as regards bills and other legislative assignments which were part and parcel of his duties in the parliament, he shone like a thousand stars. He sponsored many bills and motions, among which were an Act to amend the Public Officers Protection Act of 2014; a Bill for an Act to amend Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap C15, passed into law in December 2015; and a Bill to repeal Local Government Act, Cap 8 of 1976. Nwaoboshi also moved motions for urgent investigation into the activities of Petroleum Equalization Fund Management; he intervened in the difficulty and delay in processing land documents in Nigeria (12 January, 2016) and a motion for Ministry of Finance to release an outstanding sum of N15 billion naira belonging to Amnesty Office in the 2015 budget of the Amnesty Progaramme. As chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Nwaoboshi brought enduring legacies, both in projects and human capital development. Everyone still remembers that he also inspired resourceful and relevant bills and motions that changed the face of Delta North and the entire Niger Delta. Today, he is a fulfilled man having been recognized by his people with important traditional titles like: Aguwajiejemba of Ibusa, Ide of Okpanam, Oshimili Lieonye Olie Ogwaa of Akwukwu Igbo Kingdom and the Ochiaya of Anioma nation, among many others. It is important to state that the distinguished senator went to work immediately he arrived the red chamber. As chairman of a Grade A Committee, he moved the motion for the amendment of the NDDC Establishment Act of 2000. The bill was eventually passed into law and within a short time, it received presidential assent. For those who still remember, Nwaoboshi also set another unprecedented record in the political history of Delta North. As a senator, he influenced the inclusion of over 300 Delta North citizens into the Presidential Amnesty Programme. These young and empowered people eventually received training in various vocational areas, and empowerment upon graduation. Beyond legislative duties, empowerment and assisting the youth for a better future, Nwaoboshi was also spectacular at committee work and other legislative assignments in the senate. This networker who recognized early, the fact that he needed people to accomplish his objectives, both within and outside the senate, gave his all for the betterment of his people. So, with the support of his colleagues and a system he understood very well, he was able to attract within a single legislative term, over 140 road projects built and completed across Aniomaland. Outside road infrastructure which remains the most visible and laudable of all his interventions, Nwaoboshi also made considerable impact on rural electrification, enablement and direct interventions in the lives of his people, both in rural and urban centres. As an active senator who worked round the clock for the good of his people, this distinguished senator fought hard and worked vigorously for the inclusion of Ndokwa people in the federal government Amnesty Programme where young people received vocational training. In addition, it is absolutely important to infer at this juncture, that aside all the well-known achievements of Nwaoboshi during his years at the senate, he also inspired the sitting of three federal government skills acquisition centres in Ika South, Oshimili North and Ndokwa West Local Government Areas. And at different times, he provided financial assistance to seven hundred and eighty-four people in the nine local government areas in the senatorial district. He eventually rounded off his historic tenure as a senator when he convened a mega empowerment programme through Obi Francis Nwaoboshi Foundation where a total of nine tricycles, 98 sewing machines, nine oil milling machines, and one thousand bags of rice were presented. But he did not leave the physically challenged unattended to as he also presented them with twenty-five thousand naira each to over 45 beneficiaries. “God will never forget Senator Peter Onyeluka Nwaoboshi for remembering us, the physically challenged today. The fact that this is coming at a time like this, makes this uncommon senator, our hero of all times”, one of the beneficiaries was quoted to have said.
