The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, Prof. Ben-Gurion John Peter, has pledged to create two million jobs within four years if elected, while vowing to end political violence in the state.
Peter made the pledge on Tuesday during The Rivers Dialogue, a stakeholders’ engagement on peaceful elections and economic development, held in Port Harcourt.
Speaking on the theme, “Peaceful Elections: Sustainable Path for Economic Development,” the SDP candidate said peaceful elections, fairness, equity and justice were essential to achieving sustainable development in Rivers State.
He pledged that under his leadership, politics would no longer be a reason to kill residents or destroy communities, stressing that political parties should compete through ideas rather than violence.
“I stand before you today to make a covenant: Under my leadership, politics will never again be a reason to kill a Rivers man or burn a Rivers community. We will compete with ideas, not with arms,” he said.
Peter also committed himself and the SDP to the peace accord for the 2027 elections, calling for a free, fair and peaceful process that would allow the electorate to determine their leaders.
He argued that peaceful elections would confer legitimacy on elected governments and provide the stability required to attract investors.
The SDP candidate attributed the persistent conflicts and poverty in Rivers State, despite its abundant natural resources, to what he described as a lack of fairness, equity and justice in governance.
According to him, sustainable peace cannot be achieved where communities feel excluded from governance or deprived of the benefits of their resources.
“Peace is not the absence of gunfire, it is the presence of justice,” he said.
Presenting his economic agenda, titled “Farewell to Poverty: Rivers State Is Too Rich to Be Poor,” Peter said his administration would focus on power generation, industrial financing and youth entrepreneurship to create employment opportunities and stimulate economic growth.
He promised to deliver 4,000 megawatts of dedicated electricity for the state through independent power projects and gas-to-power clusters.
He also proposed the establishment of an annual ₦500 billion Rivers Industrial Revolution Fund to support industrialists and a ₦100 billion Rivers Youth Enterprise Fund to promote skills development and entrepreneurship.
Peter said he would also revive the defunct Pan African Bank and recapitalise it, with branches across the state’s 23 local government areas.
He explained that the proposed funds would be domiciled in the bank to ensure that public resources were channelled into the state’s economy and made accessible to businesses and entrepreneurs.
The SDP candidate said the initiatives would support job creation across sectors, including automobile assembly, textiles, tyre production, modular refineries, pharmaceuticals, mechanised agriculture and the blue economy.
On governance, Peter pledged to run an inclusive administration that would ensure fairness in appointments, equity in project distribution and justice in resource management.
Peter called on other governorship candidates to place the collective interest of Rivers State above personal political ambitions, urging them to work towards peaceful elections in 2027.
“Rivers State is too rich to be poor, and too blessed to be bloody,” he said.
