Degi-Eremienyo Biobarakuma Wangagha
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Degi-Eremienyo Biobarakuma Wangagha is a Nigerian politician who contested the 2019 Senate Elections as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Bayelsa.
Biography
Degi-Eremienyo Biobarakuma Wangagha (born 22 February 1959), is a Nigerian politician and the senator representing Bayelsa East senatorial district of Bayelsa State at the 9th National Assembly. In 2019, he was appointed the vice chairman senate committee on gas resources and vice chairman senate committee on special duties.
Degi is from Basambiri, Nembe, Bayelsa State. In 1990, he graduated from Rivers State University with a degree in agricultural economics/extension, before proceeding to receive a master of business administration from the same university.
Degi started his political career in the 1980s. In 1990, he became a member of the local chamber in Nembe Local Government Area, becoming the vice-chairman in 1993 and chairman of the local government area in 1999.
Later in his career, he served as a commissioner for rural development and chieftaincy affairs and also as a commissioner for health in Bayelsa State. He served as a member of the governing council of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and as executive director of human resources in FERMA.
In the 23 February 2019 general elections in Nigeria, Degi was elected as the senator representing Bayelsa East, receiving 43,303 votes against the PDP candidate, Ipiganai Izagara, who got 32,363 votes.
On 10 September 2019, Degi was announced as David Lyon's running mate in the 16 November 2019 Governorship Election in Bayelsa State. On 12 November 2019, the federal high court in Abuja disqualified Degi as Lyon's running mate for the Bayelsa State governorship election on the basis of falsification of academic documents. The Court of Appeal halted the judgement disqualifying him for allegedly filing false academic information on 15 November 2019.
On 16 November 2019, he was declared the deputy governor-elect of Bayelsa State by INEC. On 13 February 2020, a day prior to his swearing-in as deputy governor, his election was invalidated by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on grounds that he submitted a fake certificate to INEC.
Party Positions
Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.
Security & Defense
Enhances compensation, medical care, housing support, scholarships, stipends, and health insurance for military personnel injured in duty and their families.
Governance & Reform
Commits to amending Nigeria’s governance architecture through constitutional review and collaboration with the National Assembly and State Governments to grant States greater autonomy over critical matters like crime prevention, prisons, stamp duties, and taxation.
Economy & Trade
Reforms the Federal Budgetary Methodology to move away from oil revenue dependence and base spending on projected growth, establishing an inflationary ceiling to optimize fiscal policy without causing excessive inflation.
Infrastructure
Launches a National Infrastructure Campaign to modernize national infrastructure by hiring millions of unemployed Nigerians through the fiscal flexibility gained from reforming budgetary methodology.
Agriculture
Will encourage local farmers to form farm cooperatives, enabling them to pool resources for modern farming equipment, fertiliser, and access priority government agricultural assistance programs (extension services), with tax breaks and credits.
Environment & Climate
Will **reduce Nigeria’s gas flaring** by removing it from the top 10 countries with highest flares, aiming to maximize sector benefits while eliminating environmental harm.
Anti-corruption
Curb reliance on imported goods via luxury taxes, higher tariffs, and processing fees while incentivizing local manufacturing with tax credits/rebates.
Enterprise grant support
Provides tax credits, holidays, and reduced interest rate loans for businesses that hire a specified percentage of youth in their workforce and offer on-the-job training.
Energy
Will increase Nigeria’s domestic crude oil production to **2.6 million barrels per day by 2027** and **4 million barrels per day by 2030**, while implementing a Special Enforcement and Monitoring Unit to deter theft, vandalism, and pipeline breaches using drones and aerial surveillance.
Education
Introduces a new management system for federally funded primary and secondary schools via Boards of Education, reserving community representation in decision-making.
Healthcare
Will strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure with incentive schemes, counterpart funding programs, and grassroots preventative care (vaccinations, cancer screening, blood pressure monitoring) in collaboration with state/local governments.
Technology & Digital
Establishment of an advisory committee to review and reform regulatory frameworks for blockchain technology and virtual asset services.
Reliefs and scholarships
Provides **conditional income support** to very poor households, tied to human capital development goals like high-school attendance, healthcare, and nutrition.
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Who declares, who drops out, who switches party: sourced, not speculation.