Mr Timothy Golu, the Chief Whip of the Plateau House of Assembly, says he has sunk 35 boreholes to ease water shortage in the rural settlements of his Kanke Constituency.

Golu said in Jos on Tuesday that the boreholes became his priority to check waterborne diseases and other water-related issues resulting from the dependence on ponds and streams for drinking water.

The lawmaker, a former political editor of the Leadership Newspaper, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after picking the PDP nomination form to contest the Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency seat.

Mr Timothy Golu, the Chief Whip of the Plateau House of Assembly, says he has sunk 35 boreholes to ease water shortage in the rural settlements of his Kanke Constituency.

Golu said in Jos on Tuesday that the boreholes became his priority to check waterborne diseases and other water-related issues resulting from the dependence on ponds and streams for drinking water.

The lawmaker, a former political editor of the Leadership Newspaper, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after picking the PDP nomination form to contest the Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency seat.

He said that he had also sunk many motorised wells, adding that it had become a cardinal duty for him to inspect the boreholes, to ensure that they were always functional.

Golu said that he had also reconstructed three 22-kilometre roads and constructed culverts to open up rural settlements and ensure their access to the outside world.

He said that he was able to secure jobs for 28 graduates, to reduce unemployment, while others received direct assistance to start up their private business outfits.

“I worked with NEMA and the Plateau SEMA and we got lots of relief materials to help people in distress; we got food, building materials, domestic items and even clothes,” he said.

On his main legislative duties, Golu said that he sponsored 10 bills, some of which had since been passed into law.

Among the bills were the one for the codification of the laws of Plateau to reflect the current democratic era.

“We had laws like Northern Nigerian Law of 1966 and we felt they should be properly coded as Plateau laws, taking into cognisance modern trends as they affect our peculiar realities.

“We also felt that each law should be independent and civil because many of these laws were products of military decrees,” he said.

Another bill was on a “pig law”, to force people seeking to rear pig to observe minimum sanitation standards, while also prescribing some severe punishment for those that allowed their pigs to stray into the highways.

“Such straying pigs had always caused road accidents and we felt we must check that,” Golu said.

On why he was interested in moving to the House of Representatives, Golu said that he was looking for greater opportunities to serve the people as the Federal Government had more finances to execute bigger projects.

“As a state lawmaker, I have drilled 35 boreholes; I would get more than 100 if I was in the federal house,” he said.

He said that the three local governments that made up the federal constituency were “very rural”.

He promised to lobby for a road to link Kanam to Gombe, to ease the movement of goods and services between Plateau and Gombe State.

He said that the constituency also had rocks that could be exploited, and promised to partner construction companies to process the raw materials while compensation would be paid to his constituents.

“All my opponents are new people seeking to start afresh; I have been a law maker and will hit the ground running.

“Besides, I have been political editor and even covered the National Assembly. So, entering the House of Representatives will be a good blend between theory and practice,” he said. (NAN)

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PLHA Chief Whip Picks PDP Nomination Form For House Of Reps.