The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has vowed to challenge what it described as godfatherism and poor governance in Rivers State ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The party said it would take its campaign message to all 23 local government areas of the state, promising to focus on issues affecting residents and avoid violence during the electioneering period.
The party made its position known on Monday in Port Harcourt during the inauguration of its 600-member Rivers State Governorship Campaign Council, NEWSNGR reports.
The council is chaired by Senator Andrew Uchendu, while Hon. Chimbiko Akarolo will serve as its Director-General.
Speaking at the event, the Rivers State ADC Chairman, Chief Chukwudi Dimkpa, urged members of the council to carry out their duties responsibly and in line with the party’s constitution and the laws of Nigeria.
Dimkpa formally inaugurated the council and handed over the responsibility for coordinating and executing the party’s governorship campaign to the team, under the leadership of Uchendu and Akarolo.
He, however, noted that the council would operate under the overall authority and policy direction of the state party leadership.
The ADC chairman charged members to work together as a united, disciplined and result-driven team to achieve the party’s objectives in the 2027 election.
In his acceptance speech, Uchendu accused some political leaders of turning Rivers State into a battleground for personal interests, warning that the ongoing political crisis had taken attention away from governance.
He also criticised the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, alleging that the government had failed to meet the needs of the people.
According to Uchendu, the state’s political problems have affected public services, including healthcare, education, electricity, roads and access to clean water.
He said, “While Godfathers wage private wars of ego in Abuja and Port Harcourt, governance in Rivers State has been completely abandoned. An elected government has been decapitated by legislative rascality. Healthcare has collapsed.
“Hospital bills by previous administrations have been left to rot, leaving ordinary mothers and infants without access to basic medicine. Schools are abandoned. Our children sit on the floor.”
The campaign council chairman further lamented that despite Rivers State’s oil wealth, many residents continued to struggle with poor infrastructure and inadequate public services.
He blamed the situation on political disputes and the struggle for control of the state, insisting that the people should not be made to suffer because of disagreements among political leaders.
Uchendu declared that the ADC was determined to offer an alternative, arguing that the state needed a government where the executive, legislature and judiciary could perform their constitutional duties independently.
He said, “That is why ADC is here. We want a state where the legislature will do their work, the executive will do their work, the judiciary will do their work. On behalf of the people, not on behalf of themselves.”
The former senator also warned against any attempt to allow the state’s political crisis to continue into another four-year period.
“This administration has failed, and will continue to fail. For four years going, we lost the state, the sovereignty of the state. And we have been told that we will lose another four years. God forbid,” he added.
Uchendu urged members of the campaign council to take the party’s message to communities across the state and convince residents that the ADC could provide a different approach to governance.
He also called for unity among the different ethnic groups in Rivers State, stressing that the party would pursue an inclusive government that treats all residents fairly.
The campaign council chairman maintained that the ADC’s campaign would be based on issues rather than violence, adding that every vote cast in the forthcoming election must count.
He said the party’s goal was to recover and rebuild Rivers State for the benefit of present and future generations.
