Dumo Lulu-Briggs, NDC governorship candidate for Rivers State in the 2027 election.
Dumo Lulu-Briggs, the governorship candidate of the New Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 Rivers State governorship election, has called for a political and economic “Reset” of the state, saying political power must be redirected towards public service and measurable development.
Lulu-Briggs made the position known in a statement titled “Why I Am Running”, in which he outlined his reasons for seeking the governorship and presented his vision for the future of Rivers State.
He said the people of the state, irrespective of whether they come from riverine or upland communities, share both the benefits of a prosperous Rivers State and the consequences of poor governance.
According to him, political conflicts in the state have for too long diverted attention from issues such as employment, education, healthcare, infrastructure, business development and community safety.
He argued that the impact of prolonged political disagreements goes beyond economic statistics, noting that it could also be seen in delayed government decisions, weakened public confidence, stalled projects, businesses that failed to expand and young people waiting for opportunities.
Lulu-Briggs said Rivers State should not be condemned to what he described as “fear, factionalisation or permanent quarrel”, insisting that political disagreements could be managed without violence or the creation of permanent enemies.
He also maintained that government should not become the property of any political godfather, faction or private political interest.
“Rivers State belongs to the people,” he declared.
The NDC candidate identified the state’s human resources, energy and gas resources, ports and waterways, industrial base, tourism potential, blue economy, agriculture, culture, creative sector and the commercial strength of Port Harcourt as major assets that could drive economic transformation.
He, however, said the major challenge was converting those assets into reliable electricity, productive businesses, safer transportation, skilled employment, stronger local enterprises, improved public services and better household incomes.
Lulu-Briggs said his decision to contest the 2027 election was driven by the desire to move Rivers State from what he described as “politics without purpose” to disciplined public service and from poverty to prosperity.
He presented his “Reset Rivers State” agenda around six major areas: peaceful and purposeful politics, competent and predictable government institutions, an economy driven by production and enterprise, fairer access to opportunities, restoration of public trust and stronger environmental protection.
According to him, resetting the state would require a shift from political conflict to competence, political connections to fair opportunity and public wealth that is difficult for citizens to see in their daily lives to government that can be judged by measurable results.
He stressed that his proposed Reset should not be interpreted as revenge, but as an effort to establish better systems of governance.
On the economy, Lulu-Briggs said his administration would seek to lay the foundation for Rivers State to move from its current estimated US$20 billion economy towards a US$200 billion economy within 15 years.
He acknowledged that such a target would require long-term planning and could not be achieved by one administration alone.
He said the immediate responsibility of his administration would be to establish the foundations for safer politics, transparent public finance, improved power supply, better logistics, serviced industrial land, tourism development, employer-linked skills acquisition, stronger agriculture and fisheries, cleaner communities and projects capable of attracting serious investment.
The NDC candidate also acknowledged the limits of state government authority, particularly in areas involving federal ports, petroleum assets, federal regulators and private concessionaires.
He said a government under his leadership would use the powers available to the state fully while cooperating lawfully with institutions and stakeholders whose responsibilities fall outside state jurisdiction.
Lulu-Briggs said his manifesto would not be a catalogue of promises, but a framework in which every Local Government Area would have a productive role in the wider Rivers economy.
He said statewide systems covering power, logistics, skills, food and fisheries, digital services, environmental protection and accountable governance would be designed to connect communities to broader economic opportunities.
He further promised greater attention to women, young people, persons with disabilities and citizens outside established political networks, saying access to jobs, enterprise opportunities and public services should not depend on political connections.
On public spending, Lulu-Briggs said government should concentrate public resources on essential services, viable infrastructure and projects capable of supporting production.
He also advocated greater use of private sector financing and professional operatorship where commercially viable projects could be developed without government having to assume ownership of every enterprise.
He said inherited projects and lawful government obligations would be assessed on evidence rather than on the identity of those who initiated them.
Environmental protection also featured prominently in his agenda, with Lulu-Briggs highlighting pollution and coastal risks affecting riverine communities as well as flooding, unsafe water and inadequate drainage affecting urban communities.
He said environmental monitoring, emergency response, remediation and resilience should be treated as matters of public safety and economic justice.
“Development that destroys the conditions for life and livelihood is not transformation,” he said.
Lulu-Briggs said he was not asking Rivers people for a “blank cheque”, but for the opportunity to govern and be judged by published evidence and the tangible changes experienced by citizens and communities.
He said that by the end of his administration, citizens should be able to assess whether politics had become safer, institutions more trusted, priority projects had moved beyond announcements, small and medium-scale businesses were performing better, tourism and the creative sector had expanded, more people had moved from training into employment and environmental monitoring and response had improved.
He also said his administration would be expected to tell citizens clearly what had succeeded, what had failed and what needed to be corrected.
Lulu-Briggs called on Rivers voters to support what he described as a return of political power to public service, urging them to choose “purpose over capture, work over noise, competence over permanent conflict and prosperity over poverty.”
He concluded by asking Rivers people to join him in what he described as an effort to “Reset Rivers State”, saying his ultimate goal was to build a state where every community could feel seen, heard, respected and served by government.
Lulu-Briggs is seeking to succeed the incumbent Rivers State Governor in the 2027 governorship election on the platform of the New Democratic Congress.
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