The lawmaker representing Rivers South-East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe says unfiltered criticisms would not affect his actions particularly the empowerment initiatives in the Senatorial District, just as he presented bank draft to 300 beneficiaries of his annual school fee support scheme.
By this development, 900 indigent final year students in institutions of higher learning drawn from the seven local government areas of the Rivers South-East, which include Andoni, Eleme, Gokana, Khana, Opobo/Nkoro,Oyigbo and Tai have benefitted from the exercise that started in 2012.
Abe, who disclosed this while presenting the bank draft to the students at his constituency office, Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area, said the empowerment initiatives he introduced, some of which are designed to provide employment and build capacity in the Senatorial District were not part of his constituency project.
“What I do is between me and my God. I don’t effect actions to expect praise, whatever I do is based on my conviction; it is about my relationship with my people and not about what people will say or not”. The Senate Committee Chairman on Petroleum (Downstream) said.
He stated that the scholarship scheme, among others, were initiated in line with his commitment to invest in the people, encourage educational excellence and competition, adding that a society without competition produces people who know everybody, but know nothing.
“Amongst us here, are people from different background, and political belief; what qualifies you for this exercise is merit. The reason we insist on merit is that any society that does not base its values on merit, will be full of people who know everybody but know nothing. We want to build a society full of people who know something even if they don’t know anybody.
“There are people whose stock-in-trade is to condemn others; their attitude cannot stop us from doing what we think is right or God’s intention for us. If we buy wrappers for the women of the district as part of our appreciation strategy outside the constituency projects; what is wrong with that”, the Senator opined.
In their remarks, facilitator of the scheme, president, National Union of Oyigbo Students, Nwankwo Chijioke, that of Andoni, Timi Mbaba, and their Opobo/Nkoro counterpart, Solomon Tamunotonye, vowed that students from the senatorial district will continue to support Abe in whatever he aspires for politically.
Comrade Tamunotonye of Opobo/Nkoro particularly faulted the news of Opobians not benefitting from the tenure of Abe in the Senate, insisting that students from the LGA have benefitted immensely from the Senator’s programmes.