“Political representation is the readiness of an elected politician to be easily accessible to the electorate, particularly members of his constituency, irrespective of social, educational, economic or political background.”
The member, who represents Akpabuyo, Bakassi, and Calabar South federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. Essien Ayi, made the statement during a chat with some journalists in Calabar, Cross River State capital, south-south Nigeria.
Ayi, who is the longest serving national assembly from Cross River State, having spent nearly 20 years and has again won the same ticket on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to represent the constituents for the fifth time, attributed his repeated victory to his ‘open door policy.’
According to him, in the past 20 years, his weekends have been spent with his constituents, felicitating and mourning those holding such events, a situation that has endeared many to him.
He said, “I am a true representative for my people. Representation is being accessible to the people, and when they come to see you, make yourself available or ensure your aides attend to them.
“It is not hiding behind a big fence or hanging the sign ‘beware of dogs.’ You must be available to your constituents and attend to their problems.
“I meet with my constituents every weekend except on occasions, but I attend every event they invite me to, whether it be weddings, funerals, child dedications, and others.
“Sometimes, I move straight from the airport to attend and when they see me physically present, they are happy. The constituents keep voting for me each time,” Ayi stated.
EMPOWERMENT
The lawmaker further stated that besides the regular interface with his constituents, another quality, which has set him apart, was his unprecedented empowerment programmes.
Ayi, a Christian minister otherwise known as Pastor, said the empowerment programme started with an official annual figure of 500 people and increased beyond that number over the years.
“In my 20 years, I cannot recount the number of people who have benefitted from all my empowerment programmes.
“They are many that I have lost count. Some beneficiaries are unknown to me, and some are not from my constituency.
“At first, I sited infrastructural projects at different locations within my constituency only to discover that there was no maintenance culture either by the communities, local or state governments.
“So, in my last three terms, I decided to concentrate on people empowerment by providing equipment and training for those with no vocational skills.
“I assisted many in establishing small business centres by giving out computers, printers, and photocopiers.
“I also sponsored others interested in catering, hairdressing, welding, tailoring, barbing and in agriculture, poultry, fisheries, piggeries as well as distributed tricycles, commercial buses and taxis to young men to engage in transport business. All there were to reduce also unemployment and youth restiveness,” he stressed.
FUNDING
The legislator explained that funding for the constituency projects and empowerment schemes was domiciled in Nigerian Government agencies such as the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, the Cross River Basin Development Authority, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, including the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA.
Ayi stated, “in Cross River State, we have 8 federal constituencies, and every member is entitled to 138 million naira for these interventions, which is not given to the representatives. We give a list of projects to be sited in specific communities within the constituency and the agency where the projects would be domiciled.”
The lawmaker noted that the solar-powered street lights in Calabar South, Akpabuyo, and the University of Calabar and the rehabilitation of Atimbo road were part of the projects.
He added that several bills and motions, especially concerning the displaced people of Bakassi, were moved and promised to do more come 2023.
S.O
