Jarigbe, Family Ties and the Real Question Nigerians Should Be Asking
Oru Leonard
The recent attempt to drag Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe into yet another recycled controversy says more about the state of our politics than it does about the man himself. The allegation—that a company allegedly linked to a family member benefited from public procurement—has been pushed with the familiar drama of political witch-hunts, but without the substance Nigerians truly care about.
Senator Jarigbe is not listed as a director in the company in question. More importantly, the projects cited have been executed. In a country where abandoned projects litter communities like monuments to failed leadership, it is curious—almost suspicious—that attention is being shifted away from delivery to bloodlines.
Jarigbe’s response cuts through the noise. His siblings, like millions of others, are Nigerians with constitutional rights to bid for and win contracts. The real issue, as he rightly points out, is not who executed the projects, but whether the projects were executed—and they were.
Even more telling is the selective outrage. While critics obsess over a completed project in Cross River North, they conveniently ignore the long list of projects in the 2023 budget for Obudu, Bekwarra and Obanliku Federal Constituency where little or nothing has been done. If accountability is the goal, why the silence there?
Senator Jarigbe’s with what he describes as unbalanced journalism is understandable. Fair hearing is not a favour; it is a professional obligation. When reports are driven by political vendetta rather than facts, journalism loses credibility and becomes a tool for personal battles.
Beyond the noise, Jarigbe’s record speaks in practical terms. From the rural water projects benefiting 22 communities across the senatorial district to the distribution of motorcycles in Obudu, ICT equipment for local use, emergency rice supplies, and solar street lighting in Nkum Ekajuk and other communities, these are tangible interventions—not press-release governance.
In the end, Nigerians are tired of manufactured scandals. What they want are roads, water, light, jobs, and dignity. On that score, Senator Jarigbe insists his focus remains unchanged: delivering the dividends of democracy to Cross River North. And perhaps that is the part of the story that truly unsettles his critics.
