The Peoples Democratic Party candidate for the Yenagoa/Kolokuma-Opokuma Federal Constituency in the 2027 House of Representatives election, Elvis Donkemezuo, has pledged to base his legislative agenda on the needs and priorities of constituents.
Donkemezuo made the pledge in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while receiving a Constituency Needs Assessment Survey conducted across Yenagoa and Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Areas.
A statement released on Tuesday by the lead consultant, Victor Ikem, said the report identified unemployment, poor road networks and inadequate healthcare facilities among the major concerns of residents.
According to the survey, about 40 per cent of respondents identified unemployment as a major and pressing problem, while 33 per cent cited the lack of accessible road networks and inadequate healthcare facilities.
Donkemezuo said the findings would form the basis of his legislative agenda if elected, stressing that lawmakers should first understand the problems confronting their constituents before proposing interventions.
He said, “As someone seeking to make laws that have direct bearing on the people, I needed to hear directly from the people first.
“This survey tells us the real problems our constituents are facing — from infrastructure, education, and health to jobs and security. With this data, we can now craft legislation and attract projects that will truly solve those problems.”
The PDP candidate said the assessment was necessary to prevent elected representatives from imposing projects on communities without understanding their actual needs.
He added, “Oftentimes we find people who just come and tell people, ‘I want to do this and that for you,’ without really knowing the exact problems of the people.
“For me, this assessment is the first of its kind in this part of the world, particularly Bayelsa. And you can see that over 40 per cent of people said they need jobs and another 33 per cent said they need access roads in order to move trade and speedy development.”
Donkemezuo further pledged to sponsor bills and facilitate interventions that would address the development gaps identified by the survey, while maintaining regular engagement with constituents to assess the impact of such interventions.
“This is about service with facts, not politics as usual,” he said. “My goal is to represent Yenagoa/Kolokuma-Opokuma with competence, integrity, and results that our people can feel.”
Ikem said the survey was designed to identify the core needs of residents rather than promote any political interest.
Ikem said, “The survey was not driven by politics. It is driven essentially to find out the needs of people. Interestingly, much of what they have said is aligned with the agenda of Elvis Donkemezuo.”
He said the findings showed that many respondents considered Donkemezuo’s personality more reflective of the type of representation they wanted in the constituency.
Meanwhile, the PDP South-South Auditor, Chief Loveday Agbarigbote, commended Donkemezuo for commissioning the assessment, saying the exercise would help the candidate understand the concerns of the people.
He said, “With what our candidate did, in fact, I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know where to start, but the joy in me has made me tell the people that go to the public, go to the market, go everywhere around Bayelsa, it’s PDP that the people want.”
