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BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU
ARUA: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2025
The National Resistance Movement has intensified the search for votes in Arua City as top party officials in the region join in the campaign trail, one month to the polling day.
Starting with the Zoe Bakoko Bakoru, the Arua City chairperson of the NRM and other party leaders like the Arua Woman Mp, Lillian Paparu, who have already secured their parliamentary seat unopposed, the gloves went off on Tuesday.
Zoe Bakoko Bakoru, the former minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development addressed rallies for two NRM flag bearers in Ayivu West and Arua Central Division in a single day to set the tempo.
At Awindiri ward in Arua Central Division where incumbent MP Jackson Lee Atima was addressing the people, Bakoko began by asking a teasing question.
“Where were you 40 years go?” she quipped. “When you were in exile and in bush you were not able to produce and look after your children,” she said.
Bakoko explained that Uganda’s population is closing on 50 million people due to peace and immunization programs of the government under President Yoweri Museveni’s leadership and called on the people to increase their support for the president to protect this growing population.
Meanwhile Paparu, speaking in proverbs claimed that her and Atima have been in the nurssery baby class, now they are going for middle class.
“I have already climbed the bus, I need to move with my friend Atima and the bus driver, Yoweri Museveni,” she said.
Ben Aligoa, a former councilor of Terego district has warned the Arua Central residents to be careful of who they vote saying that the political arena for the parliamentary contest has been saturated with rejects from Terego.
“If you support opposition, you will rote like Terego had rotten for 15 years. As soon as we got rid of opposition, Terego district saw storied building at the headquarters. Be wise,” said Aligoa.
He told the people to maintain the proven leadership that Atima has offered since 2021 to push for development projects like the pending upgrade of Oli Health Centre IV to a hospital.
Atima thanked the people for the affection they have shown for him throughout the campaigns as the countdown to January 15 continues.
He rallied the people to vote President Museveni and him as the Member of Parliament so as not to interrupt the development programmes in the area.
Atima reminded the people of the role the National Resistance Movement and Museveni has played that led to restoration of peace and stability that opened way for infrastructure development in schools, hospitals and tarmacking of the roads to facilitate mobility, trade and commerce.
The West Nile region suffered devastation during the violent ouster of the late former president Idd Amin in 1979 and the vengeful attacks by the government forces following the 1980 elections that drove the majority of the region’s population into exile in former Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Sudan (South Sudan).
The return from exile after the 1986 following the restoration of order by the NRM was interrupted by wave after wave of rebel activity by different groups including the Former Uganda National Army (FUNA), the West Nile Bank Front under Juma Oris and the Uganda National Rescue Front II that signed a landmark peace agreement with the government in 2002.
Even then, the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency in Acholi kept travels from West Nile to Kampala unsafe until 2007 when the Operation Iron fist by the UPDF dislodged the rebels out of northern Uganda.
Atima said the electricity connectivity which was a result of sustained effort including by him in the parliament and other MPs under his supervision as the regional whip is yet another development with potential to unlock the untapped economic potential of West Nile of which Arua city is the epicenter.
“After you elected me to represent you in 2021, the first thing I spoke about when I held the microphone was electricity. After the debate we engaged the ministry of energy and mineral development and the hard push is what has led to the connection to the national grid. We now no longer suffer from frequent power outages like we used to,” he explained.
Atima also emphasized that the Parish Development Model anchored as a revolving seed capital at parish level is slated to be doubled from sh100m to sh200m from the next financial year. This could alleviate the rural poverty among the segment of the population that is stuck outside the money economy.
He said he has programs that are well thought out and structured to address the plight of the youths and young women through skilling for which he needs more time to operationalize.
He also reminded the people of the socio-economic engagements and support to faith-based entities of which some construction projects are still ongoing.
Atima said he needs a second term to complete what he has started and unveil more opportunities through attraction of investments to the region of West Nile.
