Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP Abia North) said his absence during the presentation of the 2016 Budget was responsible for his senatorial district’s inability to attract key projects from the budget.

Ohuabunwa, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, said his absence was informed by the nullification of his election into the 8th Senate by a Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, on Dec. 10, 2015.

The appellate court, however, ordered for a fresh election in the senatorial district, which Ohuabunwa won.

He said that his absence at the time, meant that Abia North was not going to be represented during the deliberations on the budget.

“It affected us because we have 109 senatorial constituencies and every constituency is scrambling, fighting, struggling to get a bite out of the national cake, which is the budget.

“First and foremost, the budget is not enough to go round; so, if you are not there, others will be happy, because you will be counted out and that was exactly what happened in 2016.

“Because of the nullification of the election, I was not there at the presentation neither was I there at the consideration of the 2016 budget.

“So what it means is that it was not about Mao Ohuabunwa, but Abia North was not represented.”

He said that the little Abia North attracted was worked out because of the good rapport he had with his colleagues.

Ohuabunwa said that he only returned to the Senate in the last week of the budget consideration.

According to him, while he is being distracted by litigations, Abia North is also being distracted and shortchanged.

He urged all those that contested against him to join hands with him in developing Abia North, adding that there should be a limit to litigations.

The senator said that if the distraction continued, he would not be able to deliver on the promises he made to the people of Abia North.

He listed some of the projects that his constituency lost due to the election nullification as the Aro-Chukwu Ohafia road projects; work on the erosion sites at Elu-Ohafia, Ebem, Isuikwuato and Bende.

“I took the Senate ad hoc committee there; they went round to see those areas.

“The idea was in preparation for the 2016 budget; now you might be surprised that those sites would not be attended to.

“On power, the whole Abia-North has been surveyed; the few areas I was able to achieve were through opportunities.

“The Senate had approved the report of that ad hoc committee; so, if I had been around during the budget presentation, I would have pushed for it to be adopted as Senate project.” (NAN)

•Photo shows Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa.

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