The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Rivers State, Dr Gabriel Pidomson, has said the state has not experienced proper governance in the past 12 years, calling for a complete reset to address its development challenges.
Pidomson said successive administrations had failed to establish the necessary foundations for effective governance, leaving critical infrastructure and public services, including potable pipe-borne water, largely unaddressed.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Monday, Pidomson said the lack of proper planning and inadequate understanding of the state’s challenges had hindered meaningful development.
Responding to questions about the persistent shortage of pipe-borne water in Port Harcourt, he argued that the government must first establish an accurate record of streets and residential buildings before embarking on major infrastructure projects.
He said, “Now, as for pipe of water, you cannot build something on nothing. River state is like a field state. In the past 12 years, there has not been anything I would call proper governance.”
The ADC candidate, who is a quantity surveyor, explained that proper street identification and house numbering would provide the foundation for planning infrastructure, transportation and other essential public services.
He said he would make street naming, house numbering and occupancy registration mandatory within his first 100 days in office if elected governor.
Pidomson said, “First, as governor of River State, one of the first things I’m going to focus on is security. And my security strategy will run across several dimensions of the state. So, for instance, within the first 100 days, I’m going to propose a bill for street naming, house numbering, and occupancy registration in River State.
“I’m making it mandatory. You cannot plan for your streets, you cannot plan for transportation, you cannot plan for pipe of water, when you don’t have the proper accounting of the streets.”
He further explained that the exercise would help the government determine the scope and cost of infrastructure projects before implementation.
According to him, providing pipe-borne water across the state would require a phased approach supported by proper planning and cost assessment.
Pidomson said, “And one of the ways is that I will, first of all, get the proper accounting of all the streets… Then, it is after that, you can now start to do the costing of the pipe of water. And you now set out the process of implementing it.
“Because you cannot implement pipe of water projects across the states at a go. You have to do it in phases. But you need to understand the scope of each phase in order to implement it.”
He criticised what he described as the lack of meaningful development in the state, arguing that visible government activities did not necessarily translate into substantial improvements in people’s lives.
He said, “It is going to take enormous amount of money. Because as it stands today, nothing significant has been done. Anything you see is just optics.”
“So, I’m trying to lay the foundation. Without that foundation, you cannot even start estimating the cost of ensuring that you have pipe of water in the state. And those are the problems that need to be solved.
“We need a complete reset in the state,” he said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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