Tony John, Port Harcourt
The governorship candidate of the Accord Party (AP) in Rivers State, in the forthcoming election, Dumo Lulu-Briggs, said the state is in dire need of direction for security, peace infrastructure and political leadership changes.
Lulu-Briggs alleged serious drift from the provision of basic amenities in the state and promised that, if voted into power, as governor of the state, his administration would address the rights of the citizenry, which he noted are entrenched in the constitution of the country.
He made the remarks, yesterday, when he declared his intent to vie for the governorship seat of the oil-rich state.
He said: “I can assure you the wind of change is blowing across the state. The strong wind of change is blowing down to the creeks of Rivers State.
“Rivers State is shadow of itself; it has lost its status of Garden City to ‘Garbage City.’ Rivers has lost its status of the treasure base of the nation, to a troubled based of the nation.
Speaking further, the AP governorship candidate said the state has lost relevance in the comity of nations, noting that Rivers’ major problem is bad leadership.
“What purpose has political leadership served Rivers State since 1999? Rivers political trajectory has to change. This is the reason I’m, once again, presenting myself for the governorship of Rivers State,” he said.
He said there had been immense plot against his political ambition to govern the state, which has made him more determined to participate in the forthcoming polls.
He, however, promised his administration would give priority to the payment of bursary to Rivers’ students in the tertiary institutions.
Also speaking, National Chairman of the party, Mohammed Nanado, said Accord Party made a good choice in the person of Lulu-Briggs, as its governorship flag-bearer.
“Before we came to Rivers State, we heard a lot about the state and Lulu-Briggs.
“Our party is a party of peace; we believe it is better to build human capacity, than build infrastructure for selfish gain.
“When you build human beings, you build the nation. Kidnapping and crimes are on the increase in the country because attention was shifted from human capacity development to other projects for personal interests.”
He added that if the party’s governorship candidate is given the opportunity to govern the state, Rivers would experience tremendous transformational change
Earlier in his welcome address, Chairman of Accord Party in the state, Nnanna Onyekwere, said time has come for Rivers people to demand change.
“Rivers state is ripe for change. Rivers people deserve the right, and God is out to turn around situations in the state. You are welcome to the new dawn,” Onyekwere said.
Highpoint of the event was the handing of flags to candidates of the party for various seats in the forthcoming polls.