17th October, 2022
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
The governorship candidate of Action Democratic Party, ADP, in Rivers, Victor Fingesi, has described as mere political gimmick the plan by Governor Nyesom Wike to appoint 100,000 advisers and more a few months to the expiration of his eight years tenure.
The ADP Governorship Candidate, Fingesi, said the new Advisers or Liaisons are mere “Political Recruits that will interfere and foment trouble during the 2023 elections. But it laughable and little too late in day after more than Seven years and a few months to round up his Eight years tenure to suddenly realize that there is massive unemployment in state.”
Fingesi stated this while addressing Journalists in Port Harcourt on Sunday, as a prelude to the commencement of ADP’s campaign across the 23 local government areas of the state.
He assured that some political parties and some civil society organizations have concluded plans to challenge the controversial Executive Order 21 signed by Wike stipulating the payment of N5 million caution fee for use of public schools for political campaigns.
The ADP Governorship candidate said the Executive Order 21 is aimed at restricting political parties from campaigning and a deliberate slap on democracy. “It remains the worst of distractions in the contemporary political system, which is inconsistent to the extant laws of the federal republic of Nigeria at variance with the international charters on human and Peoples’ rights”.
Fingesi averred that the Electoral Act is clear on issues of political parties’ campaigns and rallies, among other activities and wondered why that of Rivers State is different.
However, he said if the court refuses to invalidate the Executive Order 21 and the other restrictions, ADP will adopt other strategies which includes,(but not restricted to) door-to-door campaign because crowds at political rallies do not translate into electoral victory.
On what he and his party would do differently if they emerge victorious in 2023, he “we would encourage industrial revolution, boost the agrarian sector and enrich the education budget. We would harvest diverse ideas and recruit best brains potentials and rewrite it dearth infrastructure and economic challenges.”
Fingesi who was also a Governorship candidate in 2019 lamented the flood situation that had sacked all the communities in three local government areas of Ahoada-East, Ahoada-West and Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni local government areas.
He said although flooding has become annual natural disaster, the adverse effects could mitigated through land reclamation and opening of natural outlets to quicken discharge of water through natural waterways.
ADP Governorship candidate, Fingesi also revealed that if he wins the party’s three-prong policy will be anchored on Agriculture, Education and Employment, which will be the strongest weapons to tackle the deficit infrastructure and the resurrection of the already collapsed economy.
He said although rebuilding Rivers State will not be a tea party, but confident that ADP has the “verve and flavour to reposition the Rivers of our dream because we have the required exposure to give the ideal leadership that create large scale employment for the teaming unemployed people on the streets”.
In achieving its set goal, the party pledged that it will scout for the best brains anywhere in World, hinting that in a few days ahead, core details of it’s human-oriented programme would be unfolded to the public.