Florence Uwaeme
Ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial election, the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP Siminialayi Fubara and Accord Party, Dumo Lulu-Briggs, on Sunday, boycotted the gubernatorial debate organised for candidates in Rivers State.
Those who honored the debate including Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress,APC; Beatrice Itubo of the Labour Party and Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party.
No reason was given for the absence of Fubara and Lulu-Briggs.
Answering questions on security, Abe said he would rely on his practical experience as former Secretary of the Security Council in Rivers State between 2007-2011, a period that he said witnessed improvement in security in the state.
According to him, his first step would be to re-establish the authority of the state so people will understand the consequences of their actions.
He added that police officers posted to the state would be retrained and paid well and equipped.
He also promise to build a new industrial estate in Rivers State.
On his part, Cole blamed the Nyesom Wike’s administration for “Multiple Taxation” and its attendant negative effect on the state because which he said chases businesses away.
He said his administration will prioritize reducing unemployment which inturn creates insecurity.
He also promised to revive education in the state, saying “if you take a look at our classrooms 40 years back , you will see that there’s not much difference between then and now. So what must we do?
“We must shift from analogue education to a technologically based education. We must bring sound education back on the premise of technology.
“We must make the less privileged in society to have access to quality education. This is what we must do”.
