The Bayelsa State Labour Party (LP) Governorship Candidate, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has called on the common people especially the youths to rise up against the old order to save the state.
Eradiri said with courage, determination, dedication and desire to protect their future, the youths could turn around the fortunes of the state in November 11 by voting for a new order powered by his candidature.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Odioma, the home of his Running Mate, Com. Benjamin Natus (retd) in Brass Local Government Area, Eradiri lamented that the old order had failed to progressively drive the economic comparative advantages of the state to develop Bayelsa.
He said coastal communities and ocean cities like Odioma held the key to unlock the resource potential capable of birthing a new Bayelsa.
He said’ “This is the richest place in Bayelsa. I am not here to play politics with you people. Odioma has a free trade zone status. Every developed nation of the world ensures that they idolize their ocean cities. We are the only people that are joking with our ocean wealth. Odioma is the blue economy.
“So if somebody is playing politics with road to Odioma or to Brass, he doesn’t understand the issues. The road is a necessity to unlock the wealth for Bayelsa. The jobs for our young people is here, they don’t see it. I am here to talk to young people, it is time to take leadership.”
Speaking on his People, Education, Agriculture and Power (PEAP) agenda, the LP candidate said it was carefully crafted to address all the developmetal challenges of the state.
Eradiri said: “We have carefully looked at the issues that are affecting our state. There are no functional state hospitals in Bayelsa. It is mothers that send their children to schools that don’t have teachers, the security situation is bad and there is no drinking water in Yenagoa.
“In order for us to revive the people’s morale, we must ensure that there welfare is topmost on our agenda. Under it we will deal with healthcare, we will deal with new towns, we are going to build Brass Atlantic City. As we are doing the new Yenagoa town, we are doing the Brass Atlantic City. The purpose is that we need to quickly begin to move towards the ocean.
“We are going to deal with flooding first in Yenagoa. The flooding that affects the main town does not affect this side but you have ocean crisis, we are going to deal with it. Odioma is not difficult to do. You need government to pile the water front and dredge the excess sand on the water way, fill up the shores of the land. Those things are not difficult, Bayelsa has ecological funds, so there is money to deal with it.”
Speaking on education and skills development, Eradiri said: “There are no teachers in our primary schools. We are going to employ teachers, train them, pay their arrears, promotions and all that.
“Again, we want to introduce skills development. If we upgrade our craft development centers, build new ones, we make a law in Bayelsa, two years after if you don’t have certificate, you will not practice. That way a lot of our young people will have skills. We are going to invest in skills development.
“We will invest in upgrading our educational facilities. It is only in Bayelsa that school children are learning with chalk and black board. The world have moved, they teach children with electronic display and data. We are going to ensure that we upgrade educational facilities. We are going to introduce data technology education.”
Udengs said when elected in November 11, his administration would revive Bayelsa economy with agriculture, adding that Bayelsa must attain self-sufficiency in food production.
He said: “There is sugarcane in this place, starting from Nembe. Sugarcane is growing untamed in Bayelsa. We will produce sugar in Bayelsa. Dry Gin is produced from sugarcane.
“If I take leadership in this state, everything we will eat, we will produce it- pepper, onion, crayfish, eggs, vegetables, we will produce in Bayelsa. If you plant pepper, you can earn a living from pepper. When we come in, we want to build a food processing and storage facility for Bayelsa airport.
“Bayelsa airport is a cargo airport but we are not using it for that purpose because they cannot turn that place to make money for the people. If you build a food processing and storage facility, all the crayfish, fish that you produce here, you can export from the airport. All you need is for government to know what to do. So with agriculture, we are going to change the landscape of Bayelsa.
“Bayelsa started Peremabiri and Sampou rice farms and for 40 years, Peremabiri has not produced one rice. Otuokpoti in Bayelsa are the original rice growers and so, the rice project must start in the place where it is the people’s way of life. Therefore we are going to start the Otuokpoti rice project so that with the success in Otuokpoti, we can expend it to other parts of the state.
“Bayelsa has 60,000 tones cassava processing facility at Ebedebiri but we are not using it. We are going to reactivate all those companies that are moribund in the state.
The former IYC President said his government would be centered on producing 24 hours light in Bayelsa, adding that with the gas in Odioma alone, Bayelsa coukd power a turbine to provide power for all the communities.
“We will use the gas to power an industrial area. Thank God we already have the Odioma free trade zone. There are a lot of companies all they are looking for is cheap gas and you have the gas here in Odioma. If you go to South Africa, almost all the car companies in the world have their plants by the ocean because when they produce the vehicles there, they can use the ocean to ship them out.
“So we will approach them and use this place as a free trade zone, as an incentive one, and also to produce cheap gas that can power their factories and lower there production.
“There is what they call CNG- Compressed Natural Gas, it is in Odioma here. It is what people are using to drive cars now. They are converting from petrol car engine to gas engine, CNG that you have here. We are going to start CNG plants. Our boats, they will convert them to use CNG instead of fuel.
“These things can be achieved in Bayelsa, other states are doing it to reduce the cost of transportation. The difference is in leadership so myself and my Deputy who is your son, we want to take the leadership so we need your support, we need young people to come and join us in the new Bayelsa.
“We are not telling you to come and vote and go home. It is time to change it, give us your support. I am ready for this job, I have the experience”.
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