THE BIRTH OF THE "ESAN AGENDA,"

Today, about 99.9% of all the gubernatorial aspirants in Edo State who are canvassing Esan Agenda as their motivation, cannot boast of a message or agenda as dynamic, robust, impactful, realistic, and meaningful, compared to what I delivered during my senatorial race earlier this year. Even though winning an election in Nigeria is not by the volume or quality of your message, I still proudly confirm and claim the ownership, trademark, and authorship of "The Esan Agenda" and everything it encompasses. I didn't win the race; however, my campaign slogan and the underlying philosophy are now the cornerstones of the new momentum in the Edo Central Senatorial District gubernatorial quest. Imagine that!

As I embark on this journey, I speak with the authority of my Heavenly Father, God Almighty, who is on the Throne. His Goodness lives in me And He will NOT forsake me. I've got a Destiny to fulfill. Insha Allah, I'm WINNING IT. And I'm FULFILLING IT. Amen.

Mr. Alex Ehi Aidaghese (LL.M) is the ACCORD Candidate for Edo Central Senatorial District

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ALEX'S MANIFESTO: WHAT DO I STAND FOR AS A SENATORIAL CANDIDATE. By Barrister Alex Ehi Aidaghese.

INTRODUCTION

What policy statements do I want to be identified with in my leadership journey through the Nigerian Senate and what do I want to be remembered for when it's all over? This is the Alex's Manifesto.

In addition to my Esan Agenda, published earlier, as a Senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District, I want to be the Headmaster of ACCOUNTABILITY, a champion of Judicial and Prosecutorial Activism, an enforcer of Regulatory Compliance, and an advocate of Progressive principles and the extension of Socioeconomic Ladder to the "unrepresented poor majority" amongst us. Ideologically, I'm progressive, an unrepentant Awoist, with unflinching support for the Spending and Investments culture of the American Democratic party. And with conviction, I firmly believe and hold this truth to be self-evident that the Austerity Measure, as a blueprint for socioeconomic growth or expansion, is a scam. It doesn't bail out anything. It stultifies the development of infrastructural facilities and impairs overall economic growth. Simply put, you can't harvest when you don't sow seeds. I will address this point later with examples.

ON ACCOUNTABILITY

No MDAs official should dream of a new allocation, without a comprehensive report, detailing how every Naira in the previous year's allocation was expended. And Padding of Budget would be history. Who can forget the unexpected visit to the Aso Rock Clinic by the First Lady in 2017? Despite the N3B Budgetary allocation, the X-ray machine wasn't working, and there was no syringe paracetamol, or hand gloves in the clinic. Every Naira budgeted for a specific project and disbursed must be judiciously utilized by the receiving MDA to yield the highest returns and values on the investment.

ON REGULATORY COMPLIANCE.

Every law or regulation in our legal encyclopedias, no matter the ministry, organization, or agency affected or mandated to administer it, must be complied with. Road construction contractors, healthcare providers, and graft takers in our ministries, departments, and agencies are on notice. All investors in our natural and mineral resources sector must meet the global environmental requirements or standards in their exploratory activities. If there is a standing order and provisions duly made for an Ogoni cleanup, for instance, such exercise must be unfailingly executed.

ON THE JUDICIARY AND PROSECUTORIAL ACTIVISM

The Ministry of Justice, EFCC, ICPC, and the DSS must be legally blind in their criminal investigation and non-discriminatory on whom to prosecute. It's about diligent prosecution that is ethnic, religious, and social status neutral. And must be consistent with the prosecutorial approaches adopted by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew that transformed Singapore from "Third Word to First Word." If you do a crime. you must do the time irrespective of your social status, ethnic ties, or political party.

As a follow-up, resorts to interlocutory applications and frivolous ex parte orders by lawyers as defense mechanisms to defeat hearings in the substantive suit must be unequivocally rejected by all decent lawyers, if we must succeed in our goals of making white-collar crimes unappealing in Nigeria.,

MY ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY.

Every policy by the government must be directly linked to serving and uplifting the standard of living of every Nigerian. And no one should be left behind.

Ideologically, I espouse the spending and investment culture and the progressive ideological values of Democrats in the United States of America.

The "not leaving anyone behind" progressive culture that has been successfully implemented by President Barack Obama in the United States of America in recent times, with fantastic outcomes, is at the core of the UN Leave No One Behind (LNOB) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).

On the other hand, the austerity measures packages of the IMF and the World Bank for African countries are stagnation-prone and have had a stultifying effect on our overall economic development.

The quest for financial discipline and prudence spending shouldn't equate to disinvestment in schools, healthcare, and infrastructural facilities. You can't grow what you don't have or move forward when you stand still.

We cannot forget so soon the estimated $800 billion economic stimulus package that President Barack Obama's administration pumped into public works projects. And the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. In the end, and despite all the criticisms, an economy that was cascading dangerously toward a massive depression was resuscitated.

Consequently, job growth skyrocketed, and the unemployment rate went down astronomically. Simultaneously, the Affordable Healthcare Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, was born. And that's, quintessentially, balancing capitalism with populism.

ON LEADERSHIP (GENERAL)

In the words of William Shakespeare “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

Leadership is not for the fainthearted. If you must wear the crown, you must endeavor to wear it well.

To build sustainable wealth in any society, the government must provide a favorable investment climate (infrastructural facilities and security) for the entrepreneurs and the geniuses to thrive in what they do best: innovations, spending, and investment.

Foreign investors deserve protection from the host government. However, I strongly hold that no nation should sacrifice its sovereign rights or abdicate its lawmaking power via stabilization clauses to accommodate foreign investors or their investments.

I espouse transparency and religious freedom.

Rule of law and the independence of the judiciary are non-negotiable; otherwise, mobs will run amok and only the fittest will survive.

Education is the best investment gift to a child. Government involvement is sacrosanct. The extent and robustness of a nation's domestic policy and military-defense industrial complex are defined by the extent, robustness, and sophistication of its educational institutions.

I want to reinstate as I said elsewhere that I am not an Agbazilo Senatorial Candidate or Okpebho Senatorial Candidate, but a progressive democrat who appreciates social values, private entrepreneurship, a free market economy, and sustainable support programs for the middle class for the poor and the middle-class. And I represent the men and women of Esanland.

CONCLUSION

Over the years, Nigerians have been making sacrifices. Now it's the turn of the government and the leadership to start making sacrifices, cutting costs of governance, and trimming pecks of office by being proactive, creative, and visionary. Purposeful representation and accountability are inseparable.

When it's all over, I want history to record me as the apostle of accountability who brought out the best in the Nigerian man and woman and laid the foundation for the transformation of Nigeria from a Developing Country to a Developed Country. Bold visions and audacity of hope are not alien to Nigeria. We can do it.

As I embark on this journey, I speak with the authority of my Heavenly Father, God Almighty, who is on the Throne. His Goodness lives in me And He will NOT forsake me. I've got a Destiny to fulfill. Insha Allah, I'm WINNING IT. And I'm FULFILLING IT. Amen.

Mr. Alex Ehi Aidaghese is the ACCORD Candidate for Edo Central Senatorial District