THE Senator representing Delta North and Chairman of Senate Committee on Reparations and Repatriations, Senator Ned Nwoko has stated that he is passionate about his constituent’s welfare.
The Senator, during an interactive session with journalists at his Mount Ned country home, Idumuje- Ugboko, in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, added that he was not the kind of politician that would sacrifice the interest of his people for self-aggrandizement.
He said he single-handedly engaged some developed countries of the word in a legal battle for the Paris Club refund, a fight he roundly won and substantial funds illegally deducted from Nigeria on account of foreign repayments were refunded. Senator Nwoko said he was highly fulfilled by the legal victory because the funds that were refunded helped the states of the federation to impact more on the lives of the people. The Senator told newsmen how he picked interest in becoming an explorer, which took him to the most difficult parts of the world, Sao Paulo, Antarctica, with a land area of 14 million square kilometers and no permanent residents.
According to him, there was a stopover at Cape Town, South Africa, in the course of the journey, where the 17 explorers, among whom he was the oldest, engaged in physical fitness exercises and were taking through health talks by medical doctors to be able to cope with the rigours of the adventure.
Senator Nwoko said when he nursed the idea of establishing a university, he wanted it to be something beyond the ordinary and so, he went for a sports university, the first of its kind in Nigeria.He pointed out that when the issue of approving the university came up, the National Universities Commission (NUC) was at a loss because there was no template for deciding the eligibility of the institution for the approval sought.
Nwoko explained that he had to sponsor officials of the NUC to visit countries where similar institutions had been established before the Sports University, Idumuje- Ugboko, currently with second year students in session, was approved. On politics, Ned Nwoko said he was elected by the people of Delta North to serve and would not sacrifice their interests on the altar of concerns for his personal life or re-election considerations.
He said, “I have been elected to serve as Senator for Anioma people and I am not going to sacrifice the interests of Nigerians and Anioma people on the altar of concerns for my own interest, re-election bid or anything else.
