I’ll Prioritize Industrialization, Urbanization In Rivers, APC Guber Hopeful Promises
As the jostle for governorship tickets sweeps across political parties in the country, an All Progressives Congress (APC) guber aspirant in Rivers State, Hon. Tekena Iyagba has vowed to break the one-city status of the state with proven urbanization and industrialization policies, if his ambition scales through.
Consequently, he has promised to build eight more cities in the state within his first tenure as Chief Executive, if given the nod.
The aspirant, who disclosed this at a luncheon with journalists in Port Harcourt, Wednesday, lamented the undue burden placed on Port Harcourt as the only viable metropolitan city in the state.
Iyagba, who announced that he would be making formal declaration of his governorship project on May 1, 2022 at his Okrika home town, regretted fhat a clear cut programme of urban expansion by successive governments remained the bane of development in the state.
“Very sadly, except the regime of Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, successive administrations had done a big disservice to our state, by making little or no efforts to decongest Port Harcourt, the state capital and build more cities”, he opined, adding that towns like Bori, Ahoada, Degema, Omoku, Okrika, Oyigbo, Abonnema, Elele were long overdue for transformation into urban cities.
The youthful politician and CEO of Acron Grouo of Companies, who runs a conglomerate of businesses in real estate, hospitality, oil and gas as well as educational institutions however noted that the urban renewal programme of former Governor Amaechi, would have seen the light of the day, if sustained by the current administration of Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
“My desire to create eight more cities in the state stems from the fact that we are all crammed up in the State. If you look at a properly designed city and then drive into our state, you will know it’s not a proper city.
“It is not a proper city in the sense that, you don’t see the beauty of the city – the landscape and the high-rises which give you the feel of a city. So, what can we do without destroying the entire state? It means we have to create other cities.
“For Ministries like Health and Agriculture, I believe that we should spread them out to these other cities I mentioned earlier. So, you don’t just congest everything in one city. Ministry of Agriculture should go to a city that has high farming and agriculture. That’s what I think”, he said.
On what prompted his desire to seek his party’s Guber ticket, he said: “I’m one of those who sat back and watched things not go right in our great state. I’m one of those who are tired of complaining behind closed doors.
“I also realized that governance is too important to just leave in the hands of politicians, and that’s why I have put myself forward to do something about it”, he said.
Iyagba who also attributed developmental flaws to the absence of workable structures, said he would unveiled a stress free, autopiloted structture that would make governance enjoyable for subsequent administrations.
