By James Ibechi | ibechi.com | Hardball

The ongoing debate over the restoration of electricity in Oju Local Government Area has opened a fresh wound in the already strained relationship between Rt. Hon. David Ogewu and the constituents he claims to represent. At the centre of this unfolding drama is Egbe Emmanuel Ijuo, a former Vice Chairman of Oju LGA, whose detailed rebuttal on Facebook has shattered the propaganda around the issue.

Egbe did not mince words. According to him, the electricity supply restored in Oju metropolis after prolonged darkness was the sole intervention of the Jos Electricity Distribution (JED), not Hon. Ogewu or any of his surrogates. The only gesture traced to the lawmaker was a belated ₦100,000 donation to feed JED staff — a drop in the ocean, and one prompted only after public pressure. While this 100k gesture deserves acknowledgment, it is far from the scale of leadership expected of a federal lawmaker entrusted with billions in intervention funds.

Egbe further revealed that the first two transformers delivered in the area were inherited projects of Rt. Hon. Samson Okwu. Solar streetlights, often touted by Ogewu’s team, belong to a federal initiative — not personal efforts. With ₦250 million earmarked for Zonal Intervention Projects and ₦1 billion for constituency development, the question now echoes across Igede land: Where are the projects?

The most troubling twist, however, is the aggressive online campaign waged by Ogewu’s aides. Rather than account for their principal’s glaring underperformance, they insult critics and distort facts, dragging the office he occupies further into disrepute.

The people of Oju/Obi did not elect a ghost. They deserve transparency, presence, and impact — not silence and shadows. If Hon. Ogewu still holds any political capital, now is the time to spend it on actual work, not spin. Time, as always, is running out.