Udengs Eradiri, the Labour Party candidate for the governorship position in Bayelsa State, has said that he will run an all-inclusive government if he wins the seat of governor in Bayelsa State.

In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Eradiri spoke on his inspiration to become governor while sharing his manifesto, saying that he planned to turn Bayelsa into the “pride of all lands.” Eradiri said, “The government spent a hundred million to purchase forms in the Labour Party, spent over 200 million in the primaries. 105 votes, 9 aspirants, I won 79 in that election to show that the people are truly tired of what is happening in the state.”

Speaking on his plans on running the government, he said, “I am going to run an all-inclusive government, where the APC, the PDP, the Labour Party, everybody will be one. Because as we speak, the flood has started. APC is packing their bags and running into PDP house that is dry. PDP is running into Labour Party house that is dry. It’s about failure of leadership and incompetence of those who run the state.

“When I take leadership, we are opening our doors for those aggrieved APC members, those aggrieved PDP members, this is a young leadership, I am amongst you, I know what the problems are, come, let us work together and share this leadership. Let’s take Bayelsa and turn it into the true glory of all lands.”

He went on to say, “There are a lot of leakages in Bayelsa. When I was commissioner for environment in the state, I plugged the leakages around the activities that were controlled by the ministry, especially the forests and logging, and we started generating over 20 million on a monthly basis from zero account. Immediately I left, they have started collecting those monies in their hands in the ministry. We will stop all that. Bayelsa has a lot of potentials that we are going to invest in and bring in the new ways that things are done in the world”.

Expanding on his manifesto, Eradiri unveiled it as the PEAP (People, Education, Agriculture and Power) agenda. The LP candidate said, “These are the critical areas that we think that our state lacks, and if we are able to deal with them quickly, we will resolve the crisis in the state.”

Eradiri then said that the main point of the PEAP agenda was to provide jobs. Under this agenda, he said he will revive the morale of the people of Bayelsa state by focusing on healthcare, security, clean water and sanitation. He also promised to provide more teachers in the educational sector, as well as an increase in benefits for teachers. He then expressed his aim on reviving the economy of Bayelsa through agriculture, as he has plans to build a food processing mill to enable the state to export food to various parts of the world. He also said that he was going to provide power in the state by investing in gas.

Speaking on his choice of running mate, Eradiri said, “I decided to pick Commodore Benjamin Nathus, not by myself, but by the standards that I set out for the stakeholders and the leaders of the party. It was that, look, I needed somebody that had experience in government, preferably, a woman who must have retired from civil service, and if I don’t get a woman, I will get a military officer. Somebody my senior who has experience, who can support us where we are going astray.”

Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi