With Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike’s NEW VISION in progress, not  a few local government in the state, particularly Asari Toru Local Government Area (ASALGA),  are keying into it to ensure that the much-needed democracy dividends get to the rural folks.
ASALGA Caretaker Chairman, Hon. Wright Promise Warmate, in this encounter with The Tide Political Editor, Victor Tew and Chief Correspondent, Ike Wigodo, dwells extensively on the NEW VISION and sundry issues.
Excerpts:
What is your vision of developing  Asari-Toru Lga?
Development of Asari-Toru Local Government Area is essentially long term due to the geographical structure, having eight of its 15 communities cut off from road connectivity thereby hindering commerce, a major catalyst for economic development of any area. Provision of the necessary infrastructure required to stimulate sustainable development is way out of my mandate as Caretaker Chairman. However, given the dearth of economic activities owing to lack of industries and security challenges in the area that have placed economic dependence of the people almost entirely on the Council directly and indirectly, I intend to focus on improving security as an incentive to reviving activities in our traditional occupations that had been in limbo over the years. For over a century, our aquatic traditional occupations sustained families, education and even real estate development in the area; the disruption of it by insecurity is the immediate cause of the rising unemployment and idleness of the youths with its attendant increase in social vices. With the fairly constant power supply I restored on assumption of office, I also intend to organize an empowerment program to train youths and women across the 13 political wards in relevant skills to promote enterprise for self-reliance. This is beside the plan to organize traders into a cooperative and to assist them to take full advantage of the Kalabari Central Market established by the Rivers State Government to alleviate poverty and improve family economy.
It does appear that your administration’s development programmes are sited only in Buguma. Why?
I don’t think that is the case. As much as erstwhile Caretaker administrations might not have done much to impact on communities generally due to limited tenure and mandate that does not extend to capital projects, am aware that power supply is enjoyed by almost all the communities except for terrain restricted few.  And your observation is particularly untrue about my administration for the obvious reason of my planned programmes being inherently beneficial to all especially the empowerment programme which earmarks 10 persons from all the 13 political Wards for the proposed skills training.
Against the backdrop of paucity of funds and your limited tenure. How feasible is your empowerment?
I would admit that my tenure is limited and that there is no financial resources in the Council to execute the planned programme of training together with start-ups for at least 10 persons from each of the 13 Wards of the LGA on such skills as ICT, recharge cards printing and distribution, yoghurt / ice-cream production, detergent/soap production, etc that can immediately make youths income earners. But we are pursuing a Public Private Partnership means of achieving it by involving individuals and corporate bodies who feel obliged towards improving the economic life of the area as a way to curtail crime and insecurity. We also intend to engage the Rivers State Microfinance Agency (RIMA) in the area of providing start-ups for graduates after the training. Already, we have commenced with empowering 65 women five from each of the 13 Wards – that were paid to clean the Council Secretariat to give it a new look. Next to come will be to engage 65 youths in same manner for clearing/desilting jobs in the LGA.
We are doing this to compliment the laudable efforts of the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike to positively re-engage youth energy in productive ventures which was the vision behind the establishment of the German-run Port Harcourt Technical & Vocational Centre. Hence, we dubbed the programme Nyesom Ezenwo Wike Empowerment Scheme (NEWES) in solidarity with the Governor and in appreciation of his honest and untiring efforts to make Rivers State great again.
Your blueprint seem to  be woven only around Governor Wike’s New Vision. Why?
The new vision of my leader and mentor, Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is all about building a truly united, secure and prosperous Rivers State with boundless opportunities for everyone who resides in the state to peacefully pursue goals and realize potentials in self-dignity and happiness. The Governor is a role model for emerging leaders nationally and we, his followers, who know that his heart is cut for service to humanity naturally, take cue from his dutiful service to Rivers people. Asari-Toru has a new slogan under my administration- asalga attests that wike is working. We have seen his good works in his ongoing revamping of the moribund Buguma General Hospital, the only secondary health facility in the entire local government area abandoned for decades by past administrations- despite repeated promises. Of course, my programmes are cut to replicate the vision of the Governor for the state.
We have progressed with the goal to unite the party by bringing all the stakeholders on board. The PDP secretariat which had been closed down for more than a year now, has been reopened and given face lift; we are on course with our peace-building effort and have mediated into and resolved some conflicts that could have led to breach of public peace; we restored power and water supply to the great pleasure of the people; this we did within two days of my assumption of office as the CTC Chairman. It is a feat that drew the admiration of all and sundry.
What is more, we have commissioned ICT Library at Kalabari National College with commitment to renovate it and provide facility to support the computers donated by some well-meaning old students and our payment of salaries has been prompt.  Aside preparations for a Town Hall meeting to address community security and the arrangements for our proposed empowerment programme, we are also working on our contingent to put up a good showing at the inter-LGA competitions for the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Rivers State.
These strides must have ostensibly posed some security challenges to your administration. How are you tackling them?
Security of lives and property is a basic constitutional responsibility of government at all levels and it is essentially a function of law enforcement involving the security agencies prominently. The success of it however depends on sincerity of purpose as no tangible results could be achieved where it is politicized. This is what has ensured the well acclaimed success with accolades for the Governor of Rivers State from whom we are taking a cue to relentlessly pursue security as a top priority. Indeed, the good efforts of the Governor on security transcends the entire state. Therefore, we met a relatively tranquil and peaceful Asari-Toru local government area when we came on board, with pockets of occasional breach of public peace due to the criminal tendencies of some youths in the area. The Governor would have ensured total peace in the state including Ogoniland where he has reopened the closed Amnesty Programme to accommodate youths who earlier declined. But this move is being sabotaged by opposition leaders with official complicity.  The major issues we are saddled with at the moment in Asari-Toru are the complained cases of theft and burglary at night in Buguma and environs that has been put on security alert with no new incident yet; drug abuse, illegal possession of arms and occasional gun threat amongst youths as well as the chieftaincy-induced tension at Minama community. We are engaging dialogue on the Minama issue. We are deploying security profiling and intelligence gathering in dealing with youth criminality in the area which has led to the identification of 28 groups operating like cults in the area with their leaders and members placed under security watch. We intend to collaborate with the State Amnesty organ to retrieve arms from willing youths. We may opt for preemptive arrests if need be to prevent crime commission and to promote peaceful coexistence in the area.
Considering the inadequate funding of  local government areas in Nigeria, what is your  take on the issue of local government autonomy?
As tenable as they make the idea to sound, the advocates have not put up convincing argument as to how the autonomy would change the trend of corruption and inefficiency at the local councils. They only criticize the Joint Account allegedly used by some state Governors to shortchange local councils of their monthly allocation without reference to the entrenched tendency to divert received funds for personal use by council officers. If the autonomy being canvassed is all about giving allocations directly to local councils, then it would be worse for the system because of the present corrupt orientation in the system and weak or even lack of supervision in some states. The case of Rivers State is different. The Governor, Chief  Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, is an experienced administrator at all the three tiers of government who does not need to keep back council funds but is rather desirous of channeling state funds through local councils for rural development. His close supervision of councils has ensured probity in the system where hitherto, caretaker administrations fail to pay workers salary as they were specifically mandated to do.
How does the issue of illegal crude refining affect your area and what is your idea of a permanent solution?
It is now a phenomenon in the Niger Delta area such that products from this illicit activity have found their way into the tanks of filling stations for retail to users. And what more, it is gradually becoming the order of the day not only because it is receiving the backing of capitalists and security operatives but also because the federal government is now considering replacing the operation with modular refineries. How well this will serve the need of environmental safety and security should be a matter of concern. Already the environmental effect is manifest. The black soot pervading the atmosphere in Rivers State lately would have worsened by now but for the proactive steps of the Governor of Rivers State to reduce the emission of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. Communities in Asari-Toru are not left out on it. I think that it is unfortunate for us to come to this as a country when we had all the opportunity and the resources to develop our crude refining capacity to become a major exporter of petroleum products and to channel the foreign exchange earned into national development and prosperity instead of this dependence on importation and the wastage of nearly $40B in subsidy payment since 1999. The consequence of that choice is the illicit crude refining and environmental hazard we live with today. I believe that a PDP national government still holds the solution to Nigeria’s economic development to which production on the basis of comparative advantage is the key because, but for the 2015 loss of the presidency, we were looking forward to the construction of the proposed mega refineries to end fuel importation in the country. This is the way out for Nigeria’s prosperity and poverty reduction.
What measure of support do you enjoy from your council staff?
I can say that I met a Council staff that was not emotionally buoyant toward work due to backlog of unpaid salaries owed them by past administrations. But I have been able to stir their confidence that I will live up to the Governor’s instruction to prioritize salary payment and I have done that promptly in the last two months. This has been a great boost to staff morale.