Echocho: When passion meets service to humanity in Kogi East

By Samson Atekojo Usman

Obviously, Senator representing Kogi East Senatorial District, Jibrin Isah Echocho could pass for “a true democrat” given his antecedents in the last six years in the ninth and 10th Senate in terms of legislative activities and back home his service to the people.

Kogi East has had previous representatives in the upper Chamber before his ascension in 2019 and at the time, electorate least expect effective representation at National Assembly, given the many failures and disappointments with which the previous Senators were trailed with. But Senator Jibrin Isah fondly called “Echocho”, an astute banker who made foray into politics expected to become the executive governor of Kogi State in 2011 without success, at the turn of events was elected in 2019 during the former administration of the former governor, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello.

He began to change the narrative through quality debate on the floor of the Senate even as a first timer and a non-ranking Senator in the ninth Senate led by the former Senate President, Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan. His grasp of national issues, which he would not only contribute, but sponsored a bill and motion reposted Kogi East into the limelight. The voice of Kogi East reverberated and the Federal Government’s attention was drawn to the Kingdom of the Igala and Bassa speaking people. One could recall vividly, a bill he sponsored for the establishment of “Federal Eye Centre Ochadamu in Ofu Local Government Council”, tfor the Federal Government to take over the asset and liabilities of the Holley Memorial Hospital Ochadamu which its public hearing was conducted by the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) on Tuesday, February, 2022.

Through his lobby and persuasion, the bill was passed into law on 7th April, 2022, two months after its public hearing was conducted.

The foresight of a lawmaker for such a facility shows the extent of his passion for his constituents unarguably. Though, the bill was passed into law, it was caught up with effluxion of time as it was not assented to by the former President Muhammadu Buhari before he left office. It is inherent in the tradition of parliament that any bill not passed into law or passed, but not assented by the President before the expiration of the session will expire with it and has to start “de novo” in a new session.

When he eventually returned for the second term as Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as at 2024, he has already garnered 89 notable and verifiable achievements, including bills, motions and constituency projects delivery which were evenly distributed across the nine Local Government Councils in Kogi East.

Few months into his second tenure, his intervention on the long abandoned Lokoja-Shintaku-Anyigba road project which saw the contractors handling the project who have been mobilized to site is seen as strategic and critical to the social and economic well-being not just of the people of the East alone, but the entire Kogi State and Nigerians in general. Those conversant with the project would tell that the lawmaker’s intervention has rekindled the people’s confidence in their political leaders that they are there to do their bidding.

His ‘midas touch’ in empowering the constituents consistently and employment gained by some persons across the district through him which is worth mentioned, further suggested that he wasn’t into politics of selfishness, a paradigm shift from what it used to be, even as the Senator-Constituents relationship has never been this robust in times past.

In the world of social media, no politician can hide anything, hence, at a press of a button, any constituent or interested individual could self-cross-check facts or false of his or her lawmaker, thus, one is not surprise to see the massive achievements of Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho.

Echocho’s response to the legislative activities has exposed him to the leadership of the Senate and political gladiators at the national level, hence, one is not surprised that at the formation of the 10th National Assembly, the Godswill Obot Akpabio-led leadership appointed him to chair Senate Committee on Customs. To chair this Committee, a Senator must not only be a ranking member, but must be intellectually mobile with deep knowledge of revenue which he must be willing to assist the Federal Government. To say the least, the leadership of the 10th Senate is too smart to get the likes of Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho involved in strategic Ad-Committees given his upright standing, sincerity and commitment to the national development of the nation. In 2023, the Senate President appointed him as Chairman of Senate Adhoc Committee to probe CBN’s Anchor Borrowers, Ways and Means.

Echocho was inaugurated on March 11, 2024 to probe over N30 trillion that left the Central Bank of Nigeria to agencies of government during the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The task was one of the most complex as he was expected to unmask the whereabouts of the humongous fund and reason out why the nation got into huge debt overhang. His background in financial industry and his detail to legislative activities cum strong voice on the floor during plenaries may have occasioned him chairing the Committee. This was in addition to being member of other very strategic committees.

Thus, it is no flattering to say, Echocho’s passion for service as clearly demonstrated in the last six years is phenomenal in the history democracy, hence, this may be an opportunity to leverage on his beliefs and understanding of service to humanity at the State and national going forward.

Samson Atekojo Usman is a journalist and writes from Abuja

4 / 100

Powered by Rank Math SEO