Health as a Right, Not a Privilege
In Isoko today, a serious illness often means a journey to Oghara, to Asaba, to Warri, to Benin City, or to Lagos. The constituency’s primary healthcare centres are under-equipped, under-staffed, and under-powered. Maternal mortality, preventable childhood diseases, and non-communicable conditions all take an unnecessary toll on Isoko’s human potential.
My approach to healthcare is rooted in a simple conviction: that the instruments of government federal budgets, constituency project allocations, lobbying power in the National Assembly, and my personal network in the business community must be turned toward bringing quality healthcare physically closer to the people of Isoko.
The Legislative Arsenal for Healthcare
A federal legislator cannot unilaterally build hospitals, but they can do much:
- Secure constituency project allocations for medical equipment in primary healthcare centres (a process already demonstrably effective, as the current Isoko constituency secured N50m for PHC medical equipment in the 2024 budget).
- Lobby for the establishment or upgrading of a federal medical facility in Isoko.
- Use corporate social responsibility (CSR) instruments through the SPL business network and relationships with oil companies to fund medical outreach programmes.
- Champion legislation that increases the National Health Fund allocation to Niger Delta host communities.
Business Powered Healthcare: The CSR Strategy
I am explicit about one distinction that sets me apart: the office is not for legislation alone. I am a project person and with the instrumentality of this office, we will create opportunities that bring about CSR.
This means that my legislative platform and my entrepreneurial network will operate in tandem. Oil companies, construction firms, and corporate partners who do business in Isoko will be engaged through lobbying, moral suasion, and formal legislative motions to invest in the community’s health infrastructure as part of their corporate social responsibilities.