Meet Engr. Jude Chikezie Egbonwonu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Enugu State House of Assembly, Nkanu-East Constituency in the 2023 election.
Egbonwonu, a Chemical Engineer, hails from Ohuani Amofu Nkerefi in Nkanu-East Local Government Area.
Apparently, his years of experience around the corridors of power has served as his tutelage in politics, and informed his decision to run for the position.
He worked as a civil servant with Enugu State Civil Service before being appointed as Personal Assistant to the President of Nigerian Senate, National Assembly in 2005. Later in 2011, Egbonwonu was appointed as a Senior Special Assistant on Science and Technology to the Speaker, House of Representatives, National Assembly Abuja.
In July 2020, he was also appointed as Special Assistant (South-East Rep) in the APC National Secretariat, which he held until March 2022.
An experienced business executive, he is also the CEO of two limited liability companies; Zinnet Engineering Links Ltd and Divine Kossy Food Processing Ltd.
In this interview, the legislative hopeful who is married to Dr(Mrs) Nnenna Egbonwonu, and father of four, reels out reasons why he wants to represent his people at the Enugu House of Assembly.
Excerpts:
Why do you want to represent Nkanu East at the Enugu State House of Assembly?
My political career had been more in the national – National Assembly and national APC. Having been a community leader and served as President General(PG) of my community, I know the level of neglect my people of Nkanu East suffer. We are the most marginalized local government in Enugu State if not in Nigeria as a whole.
The level of neglect coupled with lack of purposeful political leadership in Nkanu East made me to chose State House of Assembly as a place to serve my people given my experience in the federal legislature.
What difference do think you would you make if elected to serve?
If am elected, by the grace of God, I will make laws that will benefit the poor and less privileged in the society. I will make the people of Nkanu East to benefit from the third-way legislative skills I have acquired.
The benefits of interdependency of the Executive and Legislature will be explored to its maximum to get State Government’s attention to the matters that concern Ndi Nkanu-East. I will pay attention to the welfare of the people especially the youth, women and the less privileged.
Why did you choose the APC as the party to contest under?
Good! Political party is a vehicle to get to elected position. Which means you must be a member of a party before you can be elected. I chose APC because I have a good understanding of their ideology and mechanism which tally with some of my principles. For example, for the first time, we have in Nigeria the Ministry of Humanitarian Services. It shows they have the welfare of the people at heart. We also have a commission for people with disabilities.
Above all, I chose to be with APC because the ruling party in my state have failed the people in all ramifications for 24 years. They have an instituted strategy to short-change the people all these years. I can’t join them. APC remains the only hope for the people of Enugu State and Nigeria.
What is your take regarding the surging insecurity problem across the South East and its feared effect on the coming elections?
It is very worrisome that South-East which used to be a very peaceful place has turned into a theater of insecurity. However, if the State Governors of the region can muster political will, they can control the insecurity in the South-East. I am afraid the spate of insecurity will lead to voter apathy.
What’s your message to the electorate about the upcoming elections?
My message to the electorate about the upcoming election is that they should vote credible candidates. They should not sell their votes. APC has come to rescue Enugu State from the 24 years of misrule. Thank you.