Why I Am Going Back To National Assembly – Olivia Agbajoh
By Christopher Odamah
One time Commissioner in Delta State, Barrister Olivia Agbajoh has given reasons why she wants to represent her Warri North Constituency in the House of Representatives, saying “I was duly elected by my people to represent them before the military coup that toppled the democratically elected government in 1983, and within three months of my stay there, I was able to use my position to attract the present Naval Base to Warri.
Olivia Agbajoh
Barr. Agbajoh, who spoke to our correspondent, said being in the House of Representatives entails being able to master the art of law making and attracting the dividends of democracy to your constituency and as such it is not for fare weather fellows. “It involves a lot of maturity, experience, connections and lobbying,” she added.
“I have been in politics for about three decades and I have once represented my people in the National Assembly, but because my tenure was cut short by the military coup, I want to go back there to finish what I started years back. As a lawmaker, I will attract projects to my constituency,” she said.
In a stern, but very articulated words she said, her people should not forget that as a lawyer, she has spent a greater part of her years in politics, serving the country, the State and her people in different capacities.
“Because I love to serve my people, I have spent my time and money in politics. If I was at the bench, I would have retired as a Judge, but I have chosen to serve my people through politics and nobody can retire me,” she said.
On the 2015 general elections, she appealed to women to be free to contest any elective positions adding that contesting elective office was not a rocket science.
She appealed to them to support and vote for female candidates, particularly for the state and National Assemblies, saying, “When women are in the Assembly, they will be able to make laws that would impact positively on their fellow women, their children and the oppressed.”
In addition, she advised women in the industries to come out to back women who are vying for political offices, reasoning that, if men in industries could do that for their fellow men in politics, women in industries should be courageous enough to do same for female contestants.
