APC offers platform to serve people better, declares Idimogu

By Ezurike Ugochukwu and Ambrose Nnaji

Honourable Jude Chukwuemeka Idimogu is one among the people that strongly believe in good and equal representation for the people. He’s a campaigner for dividends of democracy to the grassroots where represents.

Idimogu is not only a philanthropist but also an enthusiast in humanitarian and governmental services to the people including his immediate constituency. But the strategy to achieve all these purposes he believed was to place his eyes on the mark, by joining the winning team that would give him the platform to carry out the obligations in totality hence the preference for the ruling party.

Idimogu

A member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), party and serving member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Oshodi/Isolo constituency 2, the law maker expressed the contentment to be in the APC.

Idimogu was elected under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but according to him, “if you are not where decisions that affect your people are taken, you cannot influence it. When you cannot influence it, you are in trouble, whether the decision is negative or positive”.

APC is the ruling party in the Lagos State, the law maker whose intention was to genuinely serve his people and constituency saw the need to cross carpet to the ruling party to enable him achieve his ambition.

Igbos now in the same APC train with Idimogu

“I now communicate with my people better, I represent my constituency to the best of my ability, with where I’m now, things that affect Igbos in APC Lagos are now given priority, Idimogu told Nation Update in Lagos.

“I’m happy because I have a better voice for Igbos and other non-indigenes and most especially my constituents, my personal desires out of it. During my campaign, I asked God to give me a better platform to serve my people diligently and God granted it, because service is my greatest desire. With being in the ruling party APC, issues that concern my people are given priority attention”, the House member disclosed.

“If I talk to any ministry now, they listen to me, I’m more result oriented person now than before, and there is no clog in the wheel of progress now unlike what it was in the past”, he continued, adding that today, issues that concern Igbo speaking community in the Lagos state are resolved easily.

The law maker whose voice is now being respected expressed the willingness of the House members to go extra miles to get issues that concern his people and constituency resolve even in the wake of challenges.

“People are seeing my performance, and they are enjoying it, that’s my joy, besides, being the only Igbo man in the House, it helps me to reach out to my people that have issues. I am the only Igbo that was given ticket during the last election, PDP did not give Igbo man ticket to the House of Assembly, but APC did”

The honourable member who considered himself a privileged person therefore enjoined fellow easterners in Lagos state to support the ruling party, adding the party has done well to have given him (Igbo man) ticket.

According to him, if you do not identify with the ruling party, your chances of winning is slim because the party will always help when they believe in you. Idimogu said he now has a voice in the House for his constituency and the Igbo speaking community in the state.

“When I was in PDP, I envisaged that going back to the House could be tougher. According to him, PDP were able to make impact then because the party was occupying the federal seat. However, since PDP lost in the last election the preferences given to members disappeared in the tin air

“It took me awhile to take the decision because I did not want to betray supporters that voted for me in the PDP. My experience then as a party legislature was not too effective in terms of policies and performance”, Idimogu explained.

He expressed the disappointment that the empowerment programme (Kombi Buses) he had mapped out for his constituency suffered frustration then. According to him, after getting approval from the Lagos state Transport Ministry, two days later they reversed it.

“So I knew something went wrong, I pushed and pushed, and they told me it was beyond us. I then understood there was a higher authority that stopped that move. So, I then felt if I really wanted to serve my people the best bet was to cross carpet”, he expressed.

As the only Igboman out of the forty House members, Idimogu said that the management of the House never believed that he would crossover, this is because they always saw Igbo as PDP.

Hon & Lady Idimogu

The law maker explained that it took him quite some time to arrive at the decision. He also severally engaged the intervention of Church members including the priests to seek the face of God in the decision he was about to take then.

Some of the thoughts were negative and some positive, but after prayers, my conscience instructed me to cross over to the ruling APC and he did. Describing it as the right step in the right direction, he said that after cross carpeting things became a bit easier for him in the House adding that his marriage to his amiable wife a Yoruba lady from a royal family was an added advantage. “That worked for me, which gave me a soft landing anything I wanted was given priority attention.

“Besides, my main concern was to work for my people, which made me unhappy. Even when I moved over, many people were doubtful of my securing ticket of return,” Idimogu said.

Asiwaju Tinubu

According to him, they  felt that Igbos had more value in Lagos than any other tribe, if they deny me, it could be interpreted in different forms. They said they would consult with the party leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, however, the party leader is one person that kept to his word, when he makes a promise he will always remember.