An associate of Barrister Sunday Marshall Katung, Mr. Joseph Midat, has replied the publication by Mr. Solomon Ado Yani, demanding for his achievement since he venture into politics to represent the Southern Kaduna People.
Mediat sent his reply on Sunday evening to counter the assumed claim that Barrister Sunday Marshall Katung who represented Zango-jabba Federal constituency for one term and former Commissioner for finance has performed below average.
In his response, he noted that Barrister Sunday remains the best candidate to represent the good people of southern kaduna for the Senate seat of power come 2023, pointed out his achievements since he venture into politics.
Read the full response below:
WHY BARR. SUNDAY MARSHALL KATUNG IS THE MAN FOR THE SENATE JOB?
The race for the Kaduna South Senatorial seat has always been a unique one. Unlike in other zones in the state, the PDP is the only party that has produced the district’s Senator since 1999, and there’s no sign this is going to change come 2023. This explains why the PDP primaries have always been tough and a delight to watch for political actors, keen observers and researchers alike.
The 2022 senatorial primary, therefore, will surely be a tough one, especially following the declaration of Barr. Sunday Marshall Katung to run for the senate seat. As things stand, there is no gainsaying the fact that the candidate to beat is no other than Barr. Sunday Marshall Katung. His rich profile as a seasoned administrator, former Commissioner, and former member of the House of Representatives have combined to give him serious advantage over the others.
SMK’s 4 Years in the Green Chamber:
The choice of elected representatives at all levels is always a challenging task. At such times, one is faced with the difficult task of matching readiness with the capacity to deliver. In the case of the people of Jaba/Zangon Kataf Federal constituency, the choice of Barr Sunday Marshall Katung (popularly known as SMK) hugely paid off. When he was their representative, the Constituency had in him an absolute gentleman and lawmaker who served well and left his mark in the sands of time and annals of history of the area.
His was the case of opportunity meeting preparedness. His capacity, level-headedness and confidence from colleagues and the house leadership, and his network of national and international friends have combined to enable him attracts projects to his Constituency even as a first-time Legislator. On his own, he also embarked on projects and programmes designed to empower, alleviate hunger, and enhance the health and socio-economic well-being of his constituents.
As a worthy representative, Barr. SMK had caused, at different times, to present petitions and concerns of his constituents on the floor of the Green Chamber. Perhaps a few examples will suffice:
On Thursday, November 19, 2015, Hon. SMK, concerned about the welfare of justice and fairness for his constituents, presented a motion for the Hon. House to investigate the compulsory termination of service of Mrs Elizabeth Awan by the Management of Diamond Bank. The Bank Terminated her services 24 days to her attaining 10 years of service thus denying her the usual terminal benefits she would have been entitled to.
Similarly, on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 Hon. SMK laid before the House another petition by former Staff of the Nigeria Breweries Kaduna – many of whom were from his constituency. They were made redundant in the year 2000 with their entitlements still unpaid. He appealed to the Hon House to investigate and compel the NBL to pay them their entitlements.
On Thursday, January 28, 2016, Hon. SMK also went before the House with another petition from one of his constituents, Mr. Solomon David Kantiok. Mr. Kantiok was a former employee of Keystone Bank who was wrongfully suspended and whose employment was subsequently terminated without payment of his entitlements. This led to negotiations for an out of court settlement between the Bank and the petitioner with all the Petitioner’s prayers granted by the bank.
On Thursday, March 10, 2016 Hon. SMK presented a petition to the House on behalf of Hon. Danladi Kwasu, a member of KDHA whose petition hinged on the fact that Hon. Danladi’s son, a cadet in the NDA, died out of negligence, hence wanted the House to investigate the matter to forestall future occurrences.
On Tuesday, June 7, 2016, Hon. SMK moved a motion that the house received the report of the Bill for an act to establish the Nigeria Peace Corps (NPC) to empower, develop and provide alternative empowerment for the teeming unemployed youths in the country to facilitate peaceful community service, Nation Building and for other related matters.
On Wednesday, September 21, 2016, Hon SMK, pursuant to order eight rule 4(3) moved a motion for the urgent intervention and investigation of the Tremors and Earthquake that occurred at Jaba Local Government, Kaduna State.
On Thursday, December 1, 2016, Hon SMK moved another motion on the floor of the Green Chamber on the urgent need to revive the textile industries in Nigeria with particular reference to Kaduna/Kano axis. Of course as a proactive legislator Hon. SMK knew too well that if the Textile industries in Kaduna were back on stream as in the sixties & seventies, the people of Southern Kaduna in general & Jaba/Zangon Kataf will be major beneficiaries.
Other motions/bills sponsored by SMK include:
• Urgent need to phase out Coal in our Energy Mix.
• Urgent need for the inclusion of Kaduna and Plateau States in the States affected by the Herdsmen-Farmers crisis that the subcommittee of the national economic council working group would visit for consultations.
• Urgent need for investigation into the loss of twenty-one billion dollars ($21,000,000,000) {N7.6 trillion equivalent) crude oil revenue to International Oil Companies (IOCS)
• Urgent need for investigation into the arbitrary deployment of men of the Nigerian Army to the five (5) States of the South-East to save Nigeria from Arbitrariness, Lawlessness and Anarchy.
• Need to investigate the contract for the upgrade of OML 58 upgrade 1, the execution of Obite-Rumuji (our) pipeline and the Northern option pipeline projects, following the joint operation agreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Total Exploration and Production in Nigeria.
Community Development Projects:
Employment: As a true representative, Barr. SMK kept an eye on employment opportunities that could benefit his constituents. Thus he succeeded in getting employment opportunities for some members of his constituency in MDAs as well as Military and paramilitary organisations.
Youths/Women empowerment scheme:
In 2016, he launched his legislative agenda where he reminded his people that he did not believe in feeding the people with fish, rather he’d teach them how to fish. Consequently, he assembled about 300 women and youths in Zonkwa after series of behind-the-scenes consultations, culminating in signing a consultancy agreement with SMEDAN to undertake the training of those 300 women and youths – drawn from the two local governments in his constituency – in various entrepreneurial skills like soap making, beverage making, pomade making, etc.
For one week, the participants received various skills and apart from paying millions of naira to the Consultants to carry out the project, Hon SMK, on the advice of the Consultants credited the accounts of all trainees with the sum of N30, 000.00 as start-up grants after opening accounts with the sum of N5,000 for each participant. Samples of the products produced by the trainees were displayed in a form of an exhibition show for people to see and buy.
Fertilizer Procurement & Distribution:
During the planting/cropping season of 2017, Hon. SMK realising that most of his constituents are farmers bought three trucks of assorted fertilizers worth millions of naira and distributed them free to his constituents regardless of party affiliation.
Medical Outreach:
Concerned about the health status of some of his constituents, Barr. SMK came up with the idea of assembling about 25 Health professionals including Doctors, Nurses, Eye Specialists, and Lab Technicians to undertake surgeries and other health interventions simultaneously in five different locations across the two Local Governments of his constituency. The surgeries/interventions took place in Kwoi General Hospital, Daddu Health facility, Zonkwa and Zango General Hospitals, Kamuru and Kamantan PHCs. At the end of the four-day exercise, about 600 surgeries were successfully performed, over 300 people received reading glasses and over 600 others received drugs related to blood pressure, malaria, etc. The success of the exercise led to the second medical outreach eye surgery in the Zonkwa General Hospital. A combined medical team specialised in eye surgeries carried out surgeries and related treatments on over 3000 patients.
Streetlights:
Street lights, apart from beautifying our streets at night, adding to the aesthetic value of the area, it also serve security purposes. As part of projects, he brought to his constituency, Hon. SMK ensured the provision of solar street lights in Kwoi, Samban, Zonkwa, Zango and Fadan Kamantan. The 39 pole solar street lights in Kwoi, for example, are quite visible at night time.
Other projects attracted to the Constituency include:
* A 2.3KM road resurfacing on Kwoi – Kachia road.
* Several boreholes spread across all the wards of the two LGAs of the Constituency to provide potable water for the people’s use.
* Solar powered boreholes located at Nkyan kwoi, Ung. Gaiya and Madakiya.
* Primary health clinic in Sabzuro.
* Toilets at the Federal Satellite Prison in Kwoi
* Donation of various primary school textbooks to SUBEB in Zonkwa.
* Secondary School Science equipments distributed to schools.
Barr. Sunday Marshall Katung, when he was in the House of Representatives for four years, kept an eye (and his ears) on what was happening within and around his immediate constituency, southern Kaduna and indeed the entire state. He, therefore, did not shy away from making strong statements in support or against what he considered inimical to the well-being of the people. He did so by not only raising motions on the floor of the House like we wrote previously, but also through the issuance of Press releases and Media statements as a sign of concern. The following are just a few out of so many Statements he made in the first three years of his four-year term in the House:
* On November 24, 2017. Hon. Katung issued a Press Statement calling on the Federal and State governments to immortalize late Professor Andrew Jonathan Nok, well decorated son of the soil who served the state and countries patriotically.
* On January 22, 2018, Representative Katung issued a Press Statement rejecting the Federal and Kaduna State governments’ attempt to establish the land-grabbing Cattle colonies in Southern Kaduna.
* On June 22, 2015, Hon. Katung also issued a statement protesting the incessant killings and attacks on the peaceful and defenseless Communities of Southern Kaduna.
* Hon. Katung in his quest to serve his people also issued a statement urging the Kaduna State government to reopen all tertiary institutions that were shut down for several months in the southern part of the state.
* Worried by persistent killings in Southern Kaduna, Hon. Katung on October 18, 2016, issued an “Enough is Enough” Press Statement in which he warned that “Southern Kaduna people will no longer tolerate the deliberate plans to annihilate its defenceless people.” That particular statement got the attention of the Federal and Kaduna State governments.
He has marched his words on the killings with action, providing relief materials to victims and survivors within and outside his constituency. Even after leaving office, SMK is always eager to send relief materials to our communities each time they come under attack. He has also visited victims of attacks in Southern Kaduna at various IDP Camps. The survivors of the recent attacks in Madamai, and others across Atyap, Attakar, and Adara Chiefdoms, among others, have benefited immensely from SMK’s compassionate gestures.
SMK had also extended philanthropic gestures to individuals and groups within and outside his immediate constituency. Even though Hon. SMK is the kind of person who believes in doing good works, like Jesus did (and commanded us to do) in the Bible, after doing good he would say “go, but don’t tell anyone.” We are, however, aware of gifts of cars to many people; payment of school fees to hundreds of students in need at various levels; payment of hospital bills for hundreds of his constituents; business grants to so many youths/women, and provision of potable water to communities using his resources, etc.
It is crystal clear that in the history of Jaba/Zango Federal Constituency, no representative can boast of the achievements of this legislator in one term. Hon SMK has done himself and the people of his constituency proud. The question on the minds of many is, if he could accomplish these within a term, what would he not do on a higher platform, especially at this crucial time in our history? The answer is simple: so much will be achieved!
Here is the man, tested and seen, tested and trusted, for Senate, Kaduna South Senatorial District, come 2023.
©️SMK2023
