Mike Wabali
The gubernatorial election in Ekiti State is coming to an end with Kayode Fayemi, former Governor and former Minister of Mines and Steel said to be coasting to victory.
Kayode Fayemi’s victory signals few things: people vote for their instant gratification and not necessarily what the future presents as it was reported widely that money changed hands with the APC candidate sharing as much as N5000 per voter.
It was also on record that the outgoing governor, Ayodele Fayose is owing workers over 6 months in salaries. How a party expects to win such a crucial election while its governor owed workers remains a mystery.
Although the APC lost Ekiti in 2014 and went on to win the presidential election in 2015, it is still yet to be seen if history will repeat itself.
With Fayemi’s win, the 6 states of the Southwest are now under the leadership of the All Progressives Congress. This has great implications not just for the president Buhari’s re-election bid but for Rivers State.
The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has continued to play the surface politics that decimated the Fayose’s dynasty. Construction of roads and other ancillary projects are a good thing. However, what is better and often, the most neglected, is the welfare of the indigenes of the state.
Unemployment in Rivers State is at a staggering 42% and in actual sense, is the highest in the country. That is according to data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics. The same NBS reported that IGR grew at about 5 percent at the same time the unemployment rate increased. This means that as people are growing poorer and out of jobs, the ones with sources of income are taxed more.
However, factoring the influx of other Nigerians to the state, the federal government has equally not done its part to help in the matter.
Pensioners are also said to be owed in Rivers State while businesses are shutting down rapidly. Although the administration has floated a government’s interest-free loan that seems much like a bribe to entrepreneurs, it has equally wasted a remarkable amount of time in disbursing it.
These leave rooms for people to take money from the Federal Government backed All Progressives Congress and voted for the APC. There is still time and Governor Wike will do well to bridge the gap by increasing the level of welfare of the Rivers State indigenes and creating an enabling environment for business to thrive.
The governor should not only Commission projects but Commission jobs creation. This has not been the case. The people need jobs to put food on their table. Jobs will also increase the state’s revenue and reduce crime.
The governor should also see to it that louts who illegally tax entrepreneurs are stopped or minimized. It is on record that entrepreneurs in Rivers State are liable to over 50 different taxations yearly. This is not good for an economy that is heavily reliant on oil. Businesses need to grow and the government should encourage them.
Governor Wike should also provide a well-structured inter-city transportation scheme that will alleviate and reduce the cost of transportation for Rivers State residents as housing, transportation, and feeding take the chunk of civil servants monthly income.
With these and many more, the slippery peels that derailed the PDP in Ekiti will be avoided in Rivers State.
