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Dev Projects Spread, My Focus – Wike …Says Fake Video Clip, A Diversion …PDP Fingers Abe, Others As Masterminds
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike says the focus of his administration is to spread projects across the state by ensuring that no senatorial district is left behind.
The governor stated this last Saturday when he conducted selected journalists and line editors of national newspapers on a tour of projects across Rivers East and Rivers South-East Senatorial Districts.
He pointed out that the distribution and execution of projects have set the state on a platform of growth where every senatorial district feels the impact of good governance.
The governor explained that the people of Rivers State deserve quality projects, hence, the commitment to quality at all project sites.
Wike expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of work on all the roads visited, pointing out that he will continue to monitor the projects to ensure that people get value for the money invested by the government.
Commenting on the roads inspected across the two senatorial districts, Commissioner for Works, Iheanyichukwu Harrison, explained that all contractors are compelled to respect best practices to ensure the durability of the projects.
Speaking on the school projects, Commissioner for Education, Prof Kaniye Ebeku, said that the Wike-led administration through the comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction of prominent schools in the three senatorial districts of the state was repositioning the education sector.
The governor led the line editors on the inspection of the reconstructed Igwuruta-Chokocho Road, dualization of Saakpenwa-Bori Road, reconstruction of Obiri-Ikwerre Airport Road, reconstruction of Ogbunabali internal roads, reconstruction of Aluu Road, Omuchiolu-Agbada 1 Flowstation Road, Birabi Memorial Grammar School, Bori, and Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokwuta.
The projects tour also covered Federal High Court Complex being funded by the Rivers State Government, Ozuoba-Rumuoparali Road, Igbo-Etche Road, Chokocho-Umuechem-Ozuzu Road and Ulakwo-Afara-Nihi Road.
It would be recalled that earlier last Friday, Wike had led some online publishers and bloggers on a tour of different set of projects.
Meanwhile, the Governor has declared that he will complete all ongoing projects to ensure that the economy of the state remains buoyant.
Speaking during an inspection tour with journalists and bloggers, Wike said projects execution under his administration was targeted at the empowerment of the people.
The governor said that his administration will never abandon any projects because his blueprint targets projects that would be completed within 18 months to two years.
He noted that most projects were not completed during the immediate past administration because officials of that administration inflated contracts.
Wike assured that his administration remains focused to rebuilding the state, pointing out that development projects and programmes critical to his dream of a NEW Rivers.
Speaking after the inspection, Publisher of NewsAfrican Magazine, United Kingdom, Mr Moffat Ekoriko, said that he was impressed by the development strides of Wike.
He said that the quality of the projects will improve the landscape of the state and attract tourists to the state.
In her remarks, Legal Adviser of BusinessDay, Theodora Kio, urged the governor to continue with the development strides of his administration.
Wike took the journalists and bloggers to projects located in Port Harcourt City, Obio-Akpor and Eleme Local Government Areas.
The prominent projects visited include: Second Nkpogu Bridge/Road, Land Reclamation in Nkpogu/Ogbunabali, Woji-Akpajo Road/Bridge, dualization of Elelenwo-Akpajo Road, Restoration of Brick House at the Government House, Port Harcourt Pleasure Park, and the new Government House Chapel.
In another development, Governor, Wike has stated that the contrived audio clip being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) was produced to divert public attention from the massive electoral fraud by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), police and military killings that marred the rerun elections.
He said that the audio clip was fabricated using audio software, pointing out that he never spoke with any electoral officer or anyone for that matter, either in person or over the phone seeking to influence the elections.
The governor spoke during an interactive session with members of the Federated Correspondents Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists in Port Harcourt.
He said: “When you look at certain things, you just laugh. At no time did I speak to any electoral officer, let alone issue threats to any electoral officer.
“There is nowhere I spoke to an electoral officer, threatening him or her as the case maybe. I never spoke with anybody, I never threatened anybody. Nobody can say that he sat with me or that I threatened him or her. Let any electoral officer come forward to say that Ì call him or her on phone.
“I never spoke to anybody. It is totally not correct. The major issue is, did the police participate in rigging election? Did the Army participate in rigging election? Did INEC compromise? The police is denying somebody that was captured on video. That is what they are trying to cover up”.
The governor said: “Face the reality and stop chasing shadows. Let them show me. What is audio clip? What can’t this government do? I don’t have an orderly, I don’t have a chief security officer, I don’t have a camp commandant. All were taken away before the election.”
The governor stated that rather than bring the SARS Commander, Mr Akin Fakorede, to justice for his criminal activities captured on video during the rerun elections, the police authorities have arrested the policemen who accompanied him to stop Akin Fakorede from swapping Rivers East Senatorial District results sheet.
“They have now arrested and detained the policemen who accompanied me to the collation centre to stop that criminal. Even Akin Fakorede who was caught on video, has been released so that police can bungle it.
“What kind of country is this? And you are telling me that they are circulating a contrived audio clip. You caught a man on camera committing crime, but you have swept it under the carpet”, Wike said.
Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State says it has uncovered the characters behind the concocted Sahara Reporters audio which has attempted to blackmail the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
A statement by the state Chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah, said the major character in the senseless and laughable drama was Senator Magnus Abe, whom the party accused of having boasted on a radio programme a day before the fake and concocted audio clip was posted, that the audio was in the offing.
The statement, which was signed by the PDP chairman’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, described the audio clip as extremely ridiculous, adding that when the false, defectively conceptualized audio against the governor came up on Sahara Reporters a day after Abe first broke the news, it became very clear that the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator was behind the charade.
The PDP said it will hold Abe and other APC leaders who falsely concocted and manufactured the audio culpable for the consequences of their action.
Obuah also said that the few misguided youth who went to the Rivers State Police Headquarters and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in the name of protest in Port Harcourt last Friday was part of the well-orchestrated plan by the APC to attack the security of the state, cause instability and undermine the prevailing peace in the State.
The PDP chairman described the desperation of the APC leaders as shameful and condemnable, adding that the APC was instigating youth to take up arms against the government of Rivers State and continue to create a state of insecurity.
He noted that the insistence by the so-called APC protesters that the two police officers implicated in the killings and snatching of election results in the just concluded rerun elections must not be transferred out of the state, was a confirmation of the conspiracy between the APC and the police, Army and SARS to subvert the electoral process.
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We’re Working To Improve Quality Of Life Of Rivers People -Fubara …As Taraba Gov Inaugurates 6.55km Okania-Ogbogoro-Mgbaraja Roads Project
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has reiterated the commitment of his administration to render quality service that will improve the quality of life of residents, and strengthen the platform to promote unity.
Governor Fubara gave the assurance at the Okania-Ogbogoro Road junction, venue of the inauguration of the 6.55km Okania-Ogbogoro-Mgbaraja (and Mgbuoba) Roads project in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, yesterday.
The road cuts across Okania community through Ogbogoro, and connects Port Harcourt Ring Road project under construction, and was inaugurated by the Taraba State Governor, Dr Agbu Kefas.
Governor Fubara said that during the campaigns, he saw the roads in terrible condition, made a promise to fix them, and noted that that promise has been kept.
He emphasised that his administration will never be reckoned with abandoning of projects that it started, which is why he is particularly excited that the road has been fixed to ease the inconveniences suffered by the people.
The Governor said, “What we are doing here today is very simple: Promise made, promise fulfilled. I told you that whatever we are going to start, we are not going to leave it halfway. So, we have come here this afternoon to fulfill that promise.
“I am so excited, and I am so happy. I am leaving here with so much joy that we have done something that has so much impact, and importance in the lives of our people. So, I feel very fulfilled. Government is about the people. Government is knowing, understanding and seeing what you can do to make life easy for your people.
“We understand the situation of this road. Fortunately, I have a few friends who also live around here. So, there is nothing you will say that I don’t know. As a government, we will continue to do those things we know will make life easy for you.”
The Governor thanked members of the communities in the area for their support to his administration, and also for cooperating with the contractor to ensure completion of the project.
He assured the people that their request for the rehabilitation of the Community Secondary School and Health Centre, will be looked at and addressed immediately, saying, “Our government is a government that takes the interest of our people very seriously.
“There is no government without the people. It is only the people that keep the government going. So, what we will continue to do is to make sure that the problems and interest of our people are top on our list,” he assured.
Performing the inauguration, Taraba State Governor, Dr Agbu Kefas, said roads are not just physical infrastructure but represent a commitment to facilitate ease of transportation, boost local commercial activities and improve quality of lives for the people of Rivers State.
Dr Kefas noted that Governor Fubara has provided the people good roads, and like other good roads, it will serve as an artery of development, further connecting communities, enhancing access to essential services while unlocking economic potentials.
He said, “By completing this project, Your Excellency has, once again, demonstrated the transformative impact of visionary leadership. When I was coming in with the Governor on a ride, I saw the joy, the happiness of the voiceless people who were abandoned and neglected in this area, coming out to wave and welcome us.
“It wasn’t a hired crowd. Everybody, those who couldn’t make it to this place, in front of their homes, they were waving at us, and I was telling the Governor: this is all about good governance. He listened to the people, and solved their problems. So, it shows that he is doing the right thing, and I want to thank you, my brother, for what you are doing for the good people, especially the poor people even in difficult times.”
Governor Kefas further said: “As we celebrate this milestone, I am reminded of the importance of collaboration and shared vision among us as Governors. Together, we can inspire our people, improve their lives, and create lasting legacies in our respective states.”
Providing the project description, the State Commissioner for Works, Barrister Elloka Tasie-Amadi, recalled that when it was flagged-off in May, 2024, the project was for a 5km stretch but was extended in October, to include Mgbaraja axis, increasing the length to 6.55km, explaining that the 10.3 meter wide, and 5km of drains road, has now linked Apara Kingdom to Nkpor Kingdom.
In his address, Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Amb Chijioke Ihunwo, described the road as a very significant route that was abandoned for years until Governor Fubara intervened and fixed it, promising that Obio/Akpor people will not take the gestures of the State Government under Governor Fubara for granted.
Speaking on behalf of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the firm that handled the project, Eric Shen, said they are happy to be part of the infrastructure development strides of Governor Fubara, stating that though the rains posed significant challenge, they have delivered quality road network to serve the connectivity needs of the people.
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We’ll Implement Judicial Commission’s Report On Arson, Killings -Fubara …Says Such Violence Must Stop In Rivers
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured of implementing the recommendations of the report submitted to him by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Arson, Killings, and Wanton Destruction of Property at some local government council headquarters on or around Monday, October 7, 2024.
Governor Fubara gave the assurance when the seven-member commission, led by the Chairman, Justice Ibiwengi Roseline Minakiri, submitted four volumes of reports of their investigation and recommendations to him at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
The Governor declared that his administration will neither tolerate nor allow such level of violence in the State anymore because it is not profitable or productive.
He said, “We are not going to be part of any system that would encourage any destruction in this State. And for that reason, we had to inaugurate this commission, so that this commission should look into the remote and immediate causes of this problem.
“And I believe that the recommendations of this commission, with the help of God and the support of everyone, we will make sure that we implement the recommendations.”
Governor Fubara said: “We are going to take it to the next stage. The report will be presented to the Executive Council, and there, we will surely come out with the White Paper and with the White Paper. I can assure you, we are going to follow it to the end.
“Nobody is above the law, including me. So, provided what we are doing is within the confines of the law, we will do it with the help of every one.”
Governor Fubara recalled how, before 2014, a group of persons had ran wide recklessly in the State, burning down court buildings.
He noted that it is such persons, who had recently surfaced with their destructive tendencies, and have extended the violence to local government councils, killing people and destroying government property.
Governor Fubara wondered why somebody will spend so much money to build a structure intended to last as legacy of the administration but would eventually be part of its destruction in the name of politics.
Governor Fubara clarified that he has never been part of such destructive politics that continue to set the State backwards and frustrate progressive development strides.
Governor Fubara said: “I make bold to say it, I have never been and will never be a party to anything that will bring shame, disgrace, destruction to our dear State.
“It is our State. If it is well with us, it will be well with everybody. As a matter of fact, why should I encourage destruction, when I know that when you finish spoiling things, you still need money to rebuild them.
“I am an accountant, I know the importance of how we can manage money. Rather than spoil, you should use that money to do a new thing for the State.”
Governor Fubara vowed: “So, I am going to ensure that we put a stop to that level of violence or such unreasonable violence. I call it unreasonable violence because it doesn’t mean anything in politics.
“Politics is a business of interest. There is no permanent friend, no permanent enemy. Some persons who were not even in our support, today, they are here following us because their interest is the most important thing.
“Likewise tomorrow, if the interest changes, they will also go their different ways. So, why burn down the house?”
Governor Fubara thanked members of the commission for being bold, focused, and accomplishing their task with determination in the face of physical and legal threats.
In her presentation, Chairman of the seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry, Justice Ibiwengi Roseline Minakiri, said they had put their findings into four volumes, including the recommendations.
Justice Minakiri explained: “We have here four volumes of the report. We have the memoranda, which is the memoranda we got after we made our publications.
“We also have the exhibits that came with the memoranda. We have the proceedings and the records. At the end of the day, we came up with the main report.”
Justice Minakiri advised that the recommendations of the report should be studied and implemented so that people can be deterred from such callous acts and the sought-after peace secured for the State.
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We Are Eager To Showcase The Best Of Rivers State -Fubara …Declares Federation Of Public Service Games Open
The Rivers State Government says it is committed to providing a memorable experience for all delegates participating in the Federation of Public Service Games(FEPSGA) hosted by the State Government.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara stated this during the opening Ceremony of the 43rd Edition, Public Service Games, titled ”Simplified Rivers 2024″, at Sharks Stadium, Port Harcourt, last Sunday.
Speaking through his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, Governor Fubara said “Our hospitality is renowned and we are eager to showcase the best of Rivers State. From top-notch facilities to a secure environment, we have everything in place to ensure a seamless and enjoyable experience for all participants.”
Governor Fubara said to ensure the success of the games his Administration has put in place comprehensive plans and preparations with four venues approved for the events which include the Sharks Stadium, Alfred Diette -Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt Club and the University of Port Harcourt.
The State Chief Executive urged participants to remember that the true spirit of FEPSGA goes beyond winning medals, stressing that it is about building bridges of friendship, fostering a sense of community and celebrating our diversity.
According to him, we envision a public service that is more productive, more efficient and more effective, a future where public servants are empowered to deliver exceptional results driven by a culture of excellence, innovation and teamwork.
The Governor reiterated that while a healthy mind and body are essential for high productivity, regular physical activity boosts our mood, increases energy levels and enhances our cognitive function. We are eager to showcase the best of Rivers State. From top-notch facilities to a secure environment.
In her address Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who spoke through Dr.(Mrs) Magdalene Ajani, Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Interior Commended Governor Fubara for hosting this year’s event, and for his dedication to promoting sports and fostering unity in the country.
She noted that the event which serves as a platform for furthering unity, camaraderie and sportsmanship amongst public servants, was a celebration of their shared commitment to excellence, resilience and service to the nation.
Also speaking the National President of the Federation of Public Service Games (FEPSGA), Comrade Amaebi Aloku, said Rivers State got the nod to host the annual event because the Federation was pleased with the vision of Governor Fubara in identifying with the needs of the Civil Servants in the State, in terms of their welfare and being one of the first State to implement the new minimum wage and even taking it above what was approved by the national.
Earlier the Head of Service Rivers State, Dr George Nwaeke had welcomed all participants to the State and expressed gratitude to the Governor for approving and making available the resources to host the games, noting that it was an opportunity to interact with all Civil Servants across the nation.
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