Kogi lawmakers urged to priortise constituents’ wellbeing

Members of the Kogi State House of Assembly have been urged to give priority to the wellbeing of their constituents through quality representation and provision of basic social amenities.

A clergyman, Rev Fr Augustine Okafor, made the call in Lokoja during a one-day workshop organised by the Justice Development and Peace Commission ( JDPC) of the Catholic Diocese of Lokoja for the secretaries of the committees of the assembly and its commission.

Okafor said the attitude of some lawmakers abandoning their constituents after being voted to power was an anomaly which must be corrected for democracy to make progress in the state.

Okafor,, who is the coordinator of JDPC said the lawmakers should rather set up functional constituency offices and equip them well so as to serve as avenues where the needs and grievances of people and communities in the constituency can be met.

He said the workshop was organised to bridge the communication gap between the duty bearers and the electorate and to improve access to potable water supply, sanitation and hygiene in the state. He said his organization had been in the forefront of sensitizing the communities in the state on development issues especially as it relates to water, sanitation and hygiene.

Also speaking, the JDPC Legislative Focal Person, Comrade Idris Miliki said the body was currently working in 13 communities in the state to reduce the challenge of open defecation which he said was a serious issue.

He advised the lawmakers to sink more boreholes and provide more toilet facilities in their constituencies to reduce open defecation and forestall outbreak cholera and other diseases in the state.

In his remarks, Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Matthew Kolawole, thanked JDPC for hosting the workshop and assured that lawmakers would not renege on their obligations to constituents.