Why I’m contesting for FCT Senate — PRP candidate
0
0
Why I’m contesting for FCT Senate — PRP candidate
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Peoples Redemption Party, PRP senatorial candidate for the Federal Capital Territory, Dr Juliet Muoneme, has explained that her decision to contest the FCT Senate seat was driven by the need to provide effective representation and address the housing, transportation, education and economic challenges confronting residents.
Muoneme stated this on Friday during a media parley with members of the Association of Corporate Online Editors, ACOE at the association’s office in Abuja.
She said her proposed development blueprint, tagged “FCT Rise Agenda,” was designed to provide practical solutions to the challenges facing residents of the nation’s capital.
According to her, the agenda would focus on representation, innovation, inclusion, stewardship, students’ inclusion, entrepreneurship and empowerment.
READ ALSO: Kankia hails Radda’s sports development efforts
Muoneme said she decided to seek election because she believed residents of the FCT deserved representation anchored on research, consultation and a clear understanding of their needs.
“There is a programme that I have already started designing. I have designed it. I have my action plans ready, but of course, the action plans will not be sold out until I’m there. I call it FCT Rise Agenda,” she said.
Explaining the acronym, the candidate said, “The R is for representation. As the people that you are representing, you have to represent them well. You have to research into what they need.
“My I is for innovation and inclusion, while my S is for stewardship and students’ inclusion. E stands for entrepreneurship, empowerment and the rest of them.”
Muoneme identified housing as one of the major issues motivating her ambition, noting that securing decent and affordable accommodation had become increasingly difficult for many FCT residents.
She said the government needed to explore its available land and work with private investors and developers to expand access to affordable housing.
“FCT has become a place where to have decent accommodation is very difficult. But I know that there is a project called mass housing, and FCT has a lot of land,” she stated.
The PRP candidate said she would promote a large-scale housing initiative targeting both public and private-sector workers if elected.
She explained that civil servants could benefit from federal mortgage arrangements, while private-sector workers could access private mortgage schemes based on their regular incomes.
“Accommodation for residents of FCT is going to be a very massive project that we’re going to go into,” she said.
Muoneme also cited transportation as another reason for seeking the Senate seat, expressing concern over the difficulties residents encounter moving within the capital.
She proposed collaboration with indigenous automobile manufacturers as part of efforts to improve transportation and make vehicles more accessible to residents.
Beyond transportation, she said she planned to establish an automobile hub where mechanics, auto electricians, vulcanisers and other automobile-related businesses could operate in an organised environment.
According to her, the proposed hub would also provide practical training opportunities for engineering students and graduates.
“I have an automobile hub in mind where you are going to see a vast area that contains the mechanics, the electricals, the vulcaniser, this and that. It is going to be a very big hub,” she said.
Muoneme, who has an educational background, said the initiative would help bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical experience.
“Those graduating from engineering or engineering-related areas of FCT will now be able to have a place where they come for their practical knowledge, and then the theoretical knowledge,” she added.
She further argued that government could not single-handedly provide all the infrastructure and services required to transform the FCT, stressing the importance of partnerships with individuals, investors and private organisations.
“I have realised that development does not only come from whatever peanut that comes from government. There are individuals who have what it takes that you can collaborate with to make an environment better,” Muoneme said.
She maintained that her aspiration was not merely about occupying a Senate seat but about using legislative representation to attract investment, create opportunities and develop practical solutions to the everyday challenges of FCT residents.
