A governorship aspirant, Dr. Richman Godwill has vowed to prioritize economic empowerment for women, youth engagement and security if elected Governor of Akwa Ibom State.
He has also promised to build a strong democracy, saying he would run an open and accountable government, where elected officials would be held accountable in a bid to deepen democracy.
Speaking with Nationnewslead Correspondents in Akwa Ibom on Saturday, Godwill, who was third in the state to purchase a governorship nomination form said he would set up a diaspora fund to help in developing the state.
He promised to ensure continuity in government by ensuring the completion of all ongoing and abandoned projects initiated by previous administrations in the state.
Godwill who said he would evaluate all the ongoing projects including the science park which was initiated by the Attah’s administration between 1999 and 2007, explained that his decision to complete all ongoing projects was to add value to taxpayers’ money.
“All previous projects embarked upon by the previous administrations that have not been completed will be evaluated and completed.
“This is the first thing I will do when I come into the office because I don’t believe that disagreeing with the previous administration should make you abandon projects sponsored with taxpayers’ money.
“Our industrialization programme must be tied to specific resources that we have a competitive advantage. We have to develop our blue economy as we have the longest coastline In the country,” he said.
The governorship aspirant said he would develop the youths and encourage sports in addition to giving much attention to women’s development.
“With regards to youths, I think that is an area we are really here to advocate for human capacity development and we will work for human capacity development.
“We will deliver in four thematic areas of human development including economic empowerment for our women and see how we can end the issue of violence in the society.”
He lauded Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration for its industrialisation programme, saying a lot has been done as seen in the aviation sector and the establishment of industries.
He, however, expressed dismay that “our people are not involved and are not befitting from the value chain of the industrialisation programme”
Ask of his view on the issue of cultism in the state, Godwill opined that the evil of cultism thrives due to lack of appropriate punishment to deter the offenders, assuring that if elected, the menace would be tackled headlong.
Godwill who decried the idea of using cultism as a euphemism for major forms of criminality called for the adoption of more stringent measures to tackle criminality, he also stressed the need for criminals to the treated based on the severity of their acts. “You euphemize criminality when you use the term cultism”.
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