The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship hopeful in Rivers State, Dr. Farah Dagogo, has vowed to lead what he described as the “liberation” of the state in the 2027 general elections, while dismissing the political strength of the group he referred to as the “Rainbow Coalition.”

Dr. Farah Dagogo accused members of the coalition of contributing to what he described as years of stagnation in Rivers State, alleging that the interests of political actors had been prioritised over the development and welfare of residents.

Speaking during a strategic stakeholder consultation meeting, the ADC candidate said the 2027 governorship election would provide Rivers voters with an opportunity to reject what he called “recycled failure” and choose a new political direction for the state.

He declared that the strength and influence of the Rainbow Coalition would be subjected to the judgment of Rivers voters at the polls.

“The truth is, it is the Rainbow Coalition against the entire Rivers State because the Rainbow Coalition people are bearers of the chain of bondage militating against the state. They are a gathering of those who have benefited from the retrogression of our state and are determined to keep it that way,” Dagogo said.

According to him, the coalition represents political interests that have allegedly benefited from the existing order and are determined to preserve it.

“We will put their name, Rainbow Coalition, to the test in the 2027 general elections. Rivers people are tired of recycled failure. It is time to break this cycle and set our state on the path of real development,” he said.

Dagogo also took aim at what he described as attempts to rewrite the history of the Bodo-Bonny Road project and attribute its completion solely to President Bola Tinubu.

He argued that the road was the outcome of decades of agitation by the people of Bonny, contributions by community leaders and interventions by successive federal administrations.

Dagogo traced the origin of the demand for the road to the 1950s, when the late Amanyanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom, King Eugene William Dappa Pepple II, Perekule IX, reportedly raised concerns over how residents could escape the island in the event of an emergency following the commencement of Shell operations in the area.

He said the late Chief Dappa Biriye and other leaders subsequently took the demand to the military government of General Yakubu Gowon through the then Military Governor of Old Rivers State, Admiral Alfred Diete-Spiff.

According to him, the Gowon administration approved designs for the project in the early 1970s, but implementation remained stalled for decades.

He said a bridge span constructed during the Second Republic was abandoned, becoming a symbol of successive unfulfilled promises.

Dagogo said subsequent administrations, including those of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, kept the project alive through various interventions, including a re-award in 2014.

He further credited the current Amanyanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom, King Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, Edward I, JP, CON, Perekule XI, with engaging the Muhammadu Buhari administration on the need to revive the project.

According to him, the engagement eventually led to Nigeria LNG Limited funding the project through a tax-credit arrangement and its revival under a public-private partnership.

Dagogo therefore challenged what he described as attempts by the Rainbow Coalition to take sole credit for the project.

“By the time this administration came in, the project was already about 95 percent completed. To now claim sole glory is deceptive,” he said.

The ADC candidate argued that the history of the project could not be separated from the contributions of communities, traditional rulers, successive federal administrations and other stakeholders who had worked to bring the long-awaited road closer to reality.

He also recalled the controversy surrounding the groundbreaking ceremony for the project in 2017, alleging that the Rivers State Government at the time attempted to frustrate the use of public school fields for the federal event.

Dagogo, who said he was the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee Chairman on Education at the time, alleged that the state Ministry of Education warned school principals and headmasters against allowing school facilities to be used for the groundbreaking ceremony.

He said the event, initially scheduled for Government Girls Secondary School, Finima, was subsequently moved to an alternative location at Shell Gate on Bonny Island.

“I kicked against it, engaged the state government and advised that we should not allow politics to get in the way of a project that would benefit our people,” Dagogo said.

He accused the same political interests of now attempting to appropriate the credit for a project they allegedly opposed at the time.

“Today, they are applauding the same projects and sharing glories among themselves, but their roles and the events that played out are already etched in history and cannot be rewritten,” he said.

Beyond the political contest, Dagogo said his ambition was to establish a government focused on improving the living conditions of Rivers residents and creating opportunities for young people.

He identified education, healthcare, security, electricity, employment, wealth creation and affordable housing as some of the key areas that would receive attention under his administration.

Dagogo promised to make education free and functional while integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Sports (STEAMS) into the state’s curriculum.

He also pledged to rebuild the state’s primary healthcare system and improve access to basic healthcare, particularly for children.

“Security will be treated as a top priority because no investor and no family can thrive in fear,” he said.

The ADC candidate further announced a plan to dedicate five per cent of the state’s annual budget to youth entrepreneurship, skills acquisition and job creation.

“Our youths are not the problem. They are the solution. Five percent of our annual budget will go directly into youth entrepreneurship, skills acquisition, and job creation. We cannot continue to produce graduates without giving them a future,” he said.

He also promised programmes aimed at addressing infrastructure deficits, developing agriculture and supporting small businesses across the state’s 23 local government areas.

Dagogo said his administration would focus on creating an economy in which residents could have greater access to opportunities rather than merely managing existing levels of poverty.

“We are not coming to manage poverty. We are coming to end it. The time has come for Rivers State to move forward, and with your mandate to serve and not rule over you, we will do it,” he said. (The Guardian)