By Ruth Oginyi
The Senator representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Obinna Ogba has said a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim remains the political leader in Ebonyi State.
Senator Ogba stated that though his position may not go down well with some politicians in the state but it remains the fact.
Anyim, a former President of Nigerian Senate between August 2000 – May 2003, was also a former Secretary to the Federal Government between May 2011 – May 2015.
According to Ogba, almost all the politicians in the state benefited from Anyim’s political magnanimity before they became what they are today.
The senator spoke on Sunday at Ishiagu in Ivo Local Government Area of the state during the 40th birthday of a philanthropist, former South East Coordinator of Subsidy Reinvestment Programme(SURE), Dr. Gideon Osi.
Ogba observed that he would not have been a senator without the former Senate President and vowed to continue to acknowledge him as his political godfather in the state.
“Anyim Pius Anyim is the political leader of Ebonyi state whether anybody likes it or not. Pius Anyim is the political leader in Ebonyi state.
“He is the one God used and made us Senator today, I will continue to respect him, I will continue to adore him, I will continue to give him more respect he deserves. If I am out of senate today, I will continue to respect him. If anybody is angry with what I said, I don’t care”, Ogba maintained.
While commending the celebrant, the lawmaker said “God blessed Gideon Osi and he acquired scholarship and had sound education. Some of us couldn’t get any scholarship and I didn’t have money to go to secondary school.
“We stopped at Primary school level and started hustling, from hustling; we wrote exams and later attended school.
“When I entered police, people were running away from the job. Nobody agreed to join police force but today, people are struggling to get police job”.
Earlier the celebrant, Gideon Osi, a medical Doctor by profession, said he dropped out of schools two times because of lack of fund following the death of his father at the early age but later secured scholarship from secondary to University level because of his brilliance.
He said his past experience, made him to offer scholarships to the 36 undergraduates who are having similar challenge he faced.
Osi, who also organised a free medical outreach for the community for two days, said that hundred indigent women and men in the community suffering from cataracts will under eye surgery during the medical outreach.
He also shared food items, wrappers and empowerment items such grinding machines, hair dryers, generating sets to indigent people drown from different local governments areas of the state for self reliant.
