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IGWE AFORJI: The Legislator with Uncommon Passion for Youth Development
By Eric Elezuo
It is often said that a child that washes his hands clean will never be denied a sumptuous dinner with kings and princes, and to a large extent with the gods. This is the story of the lawmaker representing Eleme Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Engineer Igwe Obe Aforji. A typical reflection of the age long ‘son of the soil’ syndrome.
Young, vibrant, energetic and rearing to go, Igwe Aforji was born in Aleto, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State to the family of Obe Isaac. Igwe, as he is fondly referred to, is a proud Mechanical Engineering graduate of the reputable University of Port Harcourt in addition to a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA), also from the same institution.
Mr. Aforji sees himself as the idea whose time has come, and didn’t see it a burden when he left his comfort zone as the Community Relations Officer of Indorama/Eleme Petrochemical Limited to paddle through the murky waters of politics in other to bring tangible development to his immediate constituency, especially the youths, whom he hold close to his chest.
Before undertaking this task, Mr. Aforji has told as many that were listening that his mission to the Rivers State House of Assembly is not just to improve on what his predecessors have achieved but make a resounding difference in the life of the people of Eleme in particular, and Rivers State in general.
Igwe, receiving royal mandate to serve the people
A highly youth-centric person, Aforji, true to his words prior to his election, has began moves towards sponsoring bills that will generate developmental ideas towards creating more factories and industries in the land, thereby absorbing the youths of all cadre for purposeful engagement. His passion as he relayed during an interview while aspiring to be a legislator is basically to get youths “engaged in plastic production, production of fuse and other items with market value.” He added that “I shall equally work hard to make sure that all the entitlement and empowerment that should be given to the host communities are given to them.” He is busy doing that to the applause of his community.
Tested, proven and trusted, Aforji, who has been assistant to many political office holders in the past as well as having held public offices of repute where his integrity was showcased, is not the kind of person that says one thing and does another. And the Lannisters (apologies to Game of Thrones), he keeps his promises. Little wonder it didn’t take time before he started bringing all his campaign promises.
Hear him:
“Giving scholarships and education to the people as well as creating an enabling working environment for our people is key. We shall do environmental plan to mitigate pollution. We shall equally embark on street naming in the 10 clans of Eleme. We shall empower as many as we can in our host communities, using companies.”
Aforji didn’t just say that, he is accomplishing them just a few months after winning the mandate
“We shall convince the state governor to consider Eleme local government that brings Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to the state and needs attention in the area of infrastructural development. Because I have been tested in several positions and I have not betrayed them. I always stand tall and have that confidence that no kind of influence will change me as a legislator. I know that I will make laws and at the same time, I will touch lives. So everything that I have stated clearly should be on record for you to ask me after four years…” the man of integrity had stated.
Receiving INEC Certificate as duly elected legislator
Aforji had distinguished himself with his One Million Youth Project, which aims at creating leverage for the youths to prove their desired mettle. As a youth Ambassador of the project, Aforji was able to produce about four councillors and is determined to do more with the legislative mandate the people has bestowed on him.
Aforji is responsibly married to Mrs Enitan Igwe, and they are blessed with four wonderful children.
He’s got a mission, and he is absolutely focused to bring them to pass. The legislator is one kind that governorship looks good on…by every standard.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s recent grant of presidential pardon, describing it as a reckless abuse of executive power that weakens the justice system and emboldens criminality in the country.
In a statement issued at the weekend, Atiku said the decision to extend clemency to individuals convicted of serious crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption was both “shocking and indefensible.”
He argued that the essence of a presidential pardon — a constitutional prerogative meant to temper justice with mercy — had been grossly misused by the Tinubu administration. According to him, the act has diminished the sanctity of justice and sent the wrong message to Nigerians and the international community about the government’s moral values.
“At a time when Nigeria continues to reel under insecurity, moral decay, and rising drug-related offences, it is deeply troubling that the presidency would prioritize clemency for those whose actions have undermined national stability and social order,” the statement read.
Atiku cited reports indicating that nearly 30 percent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related crimes, describing the move as particularly insensitive given the country’s ongoing struggle with narcotics abuse and its tarnished global image on drug issues.
The former vice president also drew attention to what he called “the moral irony” of the decision, referencing past controversies surrounding President Tinubu’s alleged links to drug-related investigations in the United States.
“It is, therefore, no surprise that this administration continues to demonstrate a worrying tolerance for individuals associated with criminal enterprise,” he stated.
Atiku warned that the pardon had made a “mockery of the criminal justice system,” discouraged law enforcement agencies, and dishonoured victims of serious crimes.
“Clemency must never be confused with complicity,” he said. “When a government begins to absolve offenders of the very crimes it claims to be fighting, it erodes the moral authority of leadership and emboldens lawlessness.”
The former vice president concluded by urging Nigerians to demand a leadership that upholds justice and integrity.
“Nigeria deserves a leadership that strengthens justice, not one that trivializes it,” Atiku said.
President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to jet out of Abuja today for Rome, to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government-Level Meeting, which will focus on tackling the worsening security crisis in West Africa.
His spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday.
Onanuga said the high-level summit, scheduled to begin on October 14, will convene African leaders, senior military and intelligence officials, as well as representatives from intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, to deliberate on emerging threats undermining peace and stability in the sub-region.
Launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Aqaba Process serves as a global counter-terrorism platform co-chaired by Jordan and the Italian Government.
It seeks to strengthen international collaboration against terrorism and organised crime networks that have increasingly destabilised parts of Africa.
Onanuga stated that the 2025 edition will address the spread of extremist groups in the Sahel, the growing nexus between terrorism and organised crime, and the rising overlap between land-based insurgencies and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
According to the Presidency, discussions will centre on practical strategies to counter terror threats both on land and at sea, enhance regional intelligence sharing, and tackle online radicalisation by disrupting digital platforms used for terrorist propaganda and recruitment.
During the visit, President Tinubu is also expected to hold bilateral talks with other world leaders aimed at reinforcing security cooperation and developing collective responses to West Africa’s cross-border challenges.
The President will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and other senior government officials.
The Aqaba Process remains one of the most influential multilateral efforts promoting global unity in countering violent extremism and ensuring long-term stability in vulnerable regions.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to the people of Venezuela — and US President Donald Trump, for his “decisive support” for her country’s pro-democracy movement.
“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” she wrote on X.
“We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy,” she added.
Machado has been in hiding in Venezuela for the past year since elections that authoritarian leftist President Nicolas Maduro is accused of stealing.
Machado, who was barred from contesting the election, campaigned instead for her stand-in, ex-diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, seen by much of the international community as the rightful winner.
The Nobel Committee cited her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Machado, 58, has backed Trump’s ongoing campaign of military pressure on Maduro, including a major US naval deployment near Venezuela, as a “necessary measure” towards a democratic transition in Venezuela.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared Machado’s post dedicating her Nobel to Trump on her X account.
Several of Machado’s fellow opposition leaders, including two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, congratulated her on her prize.
“May this recognition be another boost to achieve PEACE and for our Venezuela to leave behind the suffering and recover the freedom and democracy for which it has fought for so many years,” Capriles wrote on X.
