Waive Ejiroghene Francis
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Waive Ejiroghene Francis is a Nigerian politician who contested the 2023 House of Representative Elections as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Delta.
Biography
Francis Ejiroghene Waive (born 21 May 1966) is a Nigerian priest and politician who currently serves as a member of the House of Representatives, from Delta state and the Ughelli North/South/Udu federal constituency.
Waive was born on 21 May 1966 in Lagos Nigeria. He attended the Aladja grammar school in Udu, Delta State, Nigeria, and received a degree in accounting from the Edo State University Ekpoma, now known as the Ambrose Ali University.
He studied accounting. Waive was deployed to Lagos State for his National Youth Service Corps. He completed his NYSC with Oceanic Bank PLC, now known as Ecobank Nigeria.
He resigned several years later from the bank having decided to become a minister.
Waive relocated to Warri, Nigeria to start the Church of the Anointing in 1997. Until his election into the House of Representatives, he was the senior pastor of the Church of the Anointing Warri.
He helped establish the Riverine Communities Health & Development Organization, intended to dispense charity to the medically deprived communities of the core Niger Delta region.
Currently, he is the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business of the 10th Assembly in the House of Representatives.
His election into the House of Representatives was riddled with numerous litigations from the state high courts to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The APC party primaries alone had 8 litigations, one of which was eventually settled in the Supreme Court.
His major opponent during the APC primary, Julius Akpovoka, claimed to be the rightful winner in some suits, while others alleged that Waive stepped down for his candidacy. These litigations set major judicial precedents, especially in Delta State.
In the 2015 elections, a candidate was declared dead and his candidacy given to another while he was still alive and campaigning.
Waive is married to Rita, who is a guidance and counselling educationist. They have five children.
Party Positions
Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.
Agriculture
Launches the Irrigate Nigeria Project as a public-private partnership to develop small-scale irrigation and water catchment systems using modern technology to boost agricultural productivity.
Security & Defense
Will deploy modern aerial surveillance and advanced technology to monitor and deter intrusions into oil pipelines, power stations, and other critical national infrastructure in real time.
Environment & Climate
Accelerates the environmental cleanup and re-establishment of fisheries and profitable aquacultural activities in the Niger-Delta region to counter violent extremism and poverty-driven disaffection.
Economy & Trade
Will implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and additional favorable policies to attract investment in deep-water assets within 6 months, including encouraging signature bonus negotiations and royalty reliefs.
Infrastructure
Creates regional industrial hubs in specific zones (North West, North East, South East, South South, South West, North Central) to focus on labor-intensive manufacturing, with tailored investments (e.g., textiles, dry ports, glass, pottery, solid minerals, regulated mining).
Enterprise grant support
Work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to simplify loan processes for commercial banks, mandate federally owned banks to provide low-cost loans to youth-led enterprises, and expand business incubation centers to support youth innovation.
Energy
Will mandate gas metering equipment on all facilities where gas flaring occurs within 6 months and establish a special enforcement unit to monitor compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on gas flaring reduction, with non-compliance leading to financial penalties for affected communities.
Governance & Reform
Reserve at least 3 cabinet positions for individuals under 40 and 6 more positions for members under the age of 40, and mandate that at least 20% of political appointments to Ministries/Dangomas (MDAs) be reserved for individuals under 40.
Education
Raises the priority of addressing out-of-school children, establishes a task force to review and strengthen programs like school feeding, and aims to reduce disaffected youth recruitment by violent groups.
Healthcare
Will establish a network of upgraded, equipped, and staffed general hospitals in every Local Government Area, tertiary facilities in each State, and world-class specialist hospitals in each geo-political zone to improve healthcare accessibility and quality.
Technology & Digital
Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.
Reliefs and scholarships
Commits to a conditional income support program requiring recipients to meet human capital goals (school attendance, healthcare, nutrition) in exchange for payments.
Other Candidates in Delta
Thomas Ereyitomi
PDPAdaka Tuwevwire Dennis
PRPOdimbi Nixon, Chukwuka
ADCUmukoro Nunu Samuel
ZLPIgbikiri Timi, Julius
ADCEkpoto Ekpoto Emmanuel
APC