The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Rivers State, Dr. Farah Dagogo, has declared that the party will challenge what he described as the dominance of the “Rainbow Coalition” in the state during the 2027 general elections, accusing the political bloc of entrenching underdevelopment and placing partisan interests above the welfare of the people.
Speaking at a strategic stakeholders’ consultation meeting, Dagogo said the 2027 polls would present Rivers people with an opportunity to reject what he called years of political stagnation and embrace a new leadership focused on inclusive development, accountability and people-centred governance.
He maintained that the coalition had become synonymous with the challenges confronting the state, arguing that its members had benefited from the state’s lack of progress and were unwilling to embrace meaningful change.
“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.
He vowed that the ADC would confront the coalition at the polls, expressing confidence that Rivers voters were prepared to chart a different political course.
“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 stated.
Dagogo also criticised what he described as attempts to rewrite the history of the Bodo-Bonny Road project by attributing its completion solely to the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the road project predates the current administration and represents the culmination of decades of advocacy by traditional rulers, community leaders and successive governments.
“The Bodo-Bonny Road is a 70-year dream of our people. At the forefront of the agitation was the late Amanyanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty King Eugene William Dappa Pepple II, Perekule IX, who famously asked at the onset of Shell’s operations in Bonny in the 1950s: ‘If there is an emergency or disaster, how will my people escape?’ The answer then was by sea. He insisted there should be a road.
“Chief Dappa Biriye and other leaders later took the demand to the military government of General Yakubu Gowon through the Military Governor of the Old Rivers State, Admiral Alfred Diete Spiff. While Gowon’s government approved designs in the early 1970s, the project remained on the drawing board. A bridge span built during the Second Republic was abandoned and became a monument to unfulfilled promises. Successive Presidents from Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002, through Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan with a re-award in 2014, kept it alive.
“The current Amanyanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom, King Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, Edward I, JP, CON, Perekule XI, followed in his father’s footsteps and engaged President Muhammadu Buhari to push NLNG to fund the road through tax credits, which revived the project under a PPP. This is the history and chain that permanently shuts down any false narrative.
“By the time this administration came in, the project was already about 95 per cent completed. To now claim sole glory is deceptive. What happens next after it is completed, since the project is still not 100 per cent done? That is what the Rainbow Coalition does — take credit for other people’s work because they have nothing significant to campaign with for President Tinubu in Rivers State. We will not allow falsehood to distort our chequered history,” he said.
The ADC governorship candidate further recalled that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Bodo-Bonny Road in 2017 almost suffered a setback following what he described as attempts by the then Rivers State Government to prevent the use of public school facilities for the event.
He said that as Chairman of the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Education at the time, he intervened to ensure politics did not derail a project of immense importance to the people of the state.
“In October 2017, the Rivers State Government blocked the use of public school fields in Bonny Local Government Area for the groundbreaking of the Bodo-Bonny Road by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The former Vice President is alive and knows what played out. The Rivers State government was pro-PDP while the APC led the Federal Government.
“Days before the October 12, 2017 flag-off, the Rivers State Government, through its Ministry of Education, warned school principals and headmasters not to allow school fields to be used for the federal event, threatening dismissal for non-compliance. The project was initially scheduled to take place at Government Girls Secondary School, Finima in Bonny.
“I am speaking from the position of fact and authority as I was the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee Chairman on Education then. 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.
Of course, such efforts always fall on deaf ears. As a fallout, that historic groundbreaking ceremony was moved to an alternative, secure location at Shell Gate on Bonny Island. The governor of the day was conspicuously absent. 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 his criticism of the coalition, Dagogo outlined his vision for Rivers State, saying an ADC administration would prioritise education, healthcare, security, power supply, employment generation, affordable housing and infrastructure development.
He pledged to introduce free and functional education anchored on the STEAMS model—Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Sports—while rebuilding the state’s primary healthcare system to improve access to quality medical services.
“Our government will make education free and functional, and fully integrate the STEAMS model — Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Sports — into our curriculum. We will rebuild our primary healthcare system so that no Rivers child dies from a preventable illness. Security will be treated as a top priority because no investor and no family can thrive in fear,” he said.
Dagogo also promised to dedicate five per cent of the state’s annual budget to youth entrepreneurship, skills development and job creation, arguing that young people should be viewed as drivers of economic growth rather than a burden.
“Our youths are not the problem. They are the solution. Five per cent 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 stated.
He added that his administration would implement programmes aimed at addressing infrastructure deficits, promoting agriculture, supporting small and medium-scale enterprises across the 23 local government areas and expanding economic opportunities for residents.
“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,” Dagogo said.