Former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has raised concerns over the state’s poor economic performance, warning that it is lagging far behind Lagos and Abuja in attracting investment and creating jobs.

Speaking on Politics HQ, a News Central Television programme, on Friday, Cole said foreign direct investment inflows to Rivers were negligible compared to the two major hubs.

“Right now, about 98 percent of FDIs coming to Nigeria goes to Lagos; one percent roughly goes to Abuja, and the remaining one percent is shared amongst all other states,” he said.

According to him, the disparity shows how much Rivers has lost ground economically, despite its status as a leading oil-producing state.

Cole also highlighted the high unemployment rate in Rivers compared to Lagos.

“When it comes to unemployment, Lagos State has 5% unemployment rate; Rivers State is at 14%. We are not comparing at all,” he lamented.

The businessman-turned-politician added that the statistics pointed to deeper structural challenges affecting livelihoods, with child mortality in Rivers far worse than in Lagos.

“Child mortality in Lagos is 100 deaths out of a thousand. In Rivers State, it is a thousand,” he said, describing the figure as troubling and unacceptable.

Cole explained that his background in business and entrepreneurship informed his political ambitions, noting that Rivers needed leaders capable of tackling the state’s economic challenges with practical solutions.

“When you start looking at the numbers, you know there is a big problem, and the problem is real. We are trying to rebuild Rivers State, we are trying to make sure that Rivers State can begin to stand up and compete again,” he said.

He warned against misleading comparisons between Rivers and Lagos, insisting that the gap remains wide.

“Everybody saying we are at par with Lagos is deceiving themselves. We are not at par, so there is work to do,” he added.