By N.M. Odedede
Before the advent of Distinguished Senator Ede Dafinone as the duly elected Senator representing the good people of Delta Central in the 10th National Assembly, all first-time senators from the district were mostly ignored in terms of presenting their scorecards. The reason is that the Nigerian Senate is an intricate parliament that requires so many critical factors for unranked legislators to excel in their mandate to the people.
A first-time senator in the Nigerian Senate who hopes to bring about a paradigm shift in the political geometry that revolves around his mandate must possess some of the attributes of either a trailblazer or a pacesetter. This is what Senator Ede Dafinone has epitomized in less than three years of his enviable representation in the Nigerian Senate, of one of the densely populated senatorial districts in Nigeria. Considering its huge population, the Delta Central senatorial district is more than the population of some states put together in Nigeria. Hence, the job of a senator from this district is usually cumbersome when it comes to equitable distribution of constituency projects across all 8 local government areas of the said district.
It is on record that in less than two years of his representation as a first-time senator representing the senatorial district, Senator Ede Dafinone has had its signature projects delivered equitably across all eight local government areas of the district. Within this short period of assessment, Senator Ede Dafinone could rightly be described as an iconic leader with footprints that were best described as an Urhobo political trailblazer.
A political leader who is classified as a trailblazer is therefore distinguished not merely by his or her position but characterized by his or her capacity to pioneer new paths, engender innovative developmental models, challenge the status quo, and inspire others to maximize growth, even in difficult terrains. No doubt, the people of Nigeria have had their tolls from the grip of global economic crises; the case of the Delta Central people is not any different. However, in the face of despair, Senator Ede Dafinone has stood tall as a beacon of hope for his people. Little wonder, he is seen in every area of the Delta Central senatorial district deepening his ties, consultative engagements, and fulfilling his obligations to his people.
Recently, one of our most revered royal monarchies in Niger Delta, the Ovie of Uvwie Kingsom in Delta State, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Emmanuel Ekemejewa Sideso, Abe I, JP, OON, openly commended and acknowledged Senator Ede Dafinone for his unprecedented performance and unmatched accessibility as a senator representing the district in the National Assembly. Through his open-door policy and various constituency intervention programs for Delta Central, Senator Ede Dafinone has shown that he has unequalled passion and commitment to help solve the challenges and problems of the people. He has also shown that he is a befitting servant-leader of the Delta Central people who can be trusted for a re-election to be a ranking senator.
Senator Ede Dafinone has put up a scintillating performance in his core responsibilities in lawmaking, representation, and oversight. Two of his educational institutional developmental bills that are dear to the heart of the average Delta Centralite are the bill to establish a Federal University of Agriculture, Orerokpe, and the bill to establish the Federal University of Education, Isiokolo. Unarguably, both bills are landmark in nature because their primary objective is to address the limited number of technocrats and expert personnel in areas of agriculture and education, respectively, in the Niger Delta and all parts of Nigeria.
Among other things, Senator Ede Dafinone's bill to establish the Chartered Institute of Planning of Nigeria (CIPN) calls for a standing ovation for the Delta-born chartered accountant turned senator. Considering the fact that consequent to Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999, this bill provides a noble and dispassionate effort to address our longstanding issues of policy somersaults and inconsistency in economic planning protocols that have hindered our developmental agenda over the years. The bill is now in the public hearing stage, and it is believed that when passed into law, it would help to formulate data-driven planning systems that would boost investors' confidence in Nigeria's economy.
Senator Ede Dafinone has convincingly shown he is a thoroughbred professional. He has displayed finesse and intellectual sagacity on the floor of the Nigeria Senate and during several technical committee meetings. The people of Delta Central must be proud to have such an illustrious personality as their senator in the 10th National Assembly. More so, is the Urhobo Nation. His passion for Urhobo growth and development is quite unprecedented. Listening to one of his interviews conducted recently, one can conclude that Senator Ede Dafinone is rising in the direction of great minds like patriarchs Chief Mukoro Mowoe and Chief Daniel Okumagba, both of blessed memory in Urhobo Nation.
In the build-up to the 2027 elections, where every eligible Urhobo son from Delta Central is at liberty to vie for the Delta Central senatorial seat, we must be guided by the fact that the governorship seat of the state is quite different from the senatorial seat, which is not an object of rotation or zoning. Urhobo is one, and the goal for the Urhobo people ought to be to produce a new ranking Urhobo senator who is budding to do more for his or her people. Senator Ede Dafinone fits perfectly into this integral demand of our people and must be supported.
N.M. Odedede writes as a patriot from the Delta Central senatorial district.
