Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has declared Rivers State a conducive investment climate for prospective investors to explore with guarantee of safety of their investments.
Governor Fubara made this known, last Monday, at Government House, Port Harcourt, while signing Executive Order 2, 2024 into law as part of the recommendations of the Committee that handled the Rivers State Investment Summit held on 22nd and 23rd of May, 2024.
The Governor said: “What we just did today is in line with one of the recommendations of special committee that handled the economic investment summit. As a fall out of that summit, we all agreed that the windows and the big doors for economic advancement of the state has been opened.
“What we’ve done is to tell the world that it’s not just the summit, but we’re living up to our promise that Rivers State will be great economically. We’re not going to end here but in a couple of days the agency will be properly constituted.”
The Governor, who identified high cost of living as the major challenge in the country today, emphasized that Agriculture and Healthcare will take priority in the economic revolution in the state as a practical measure of reducing the cost of living of the people.
He commended the Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr Dagogo Iboroma (SAN), for job well done and charged members of the state executive council to work hard to achieve the desired objective of Economic Development in the state.
Earlier, Barr Iboroma stated that the law will “harness the gains of the summit and serve as a vehicle to drive, promote and creat a conducive environment for investment development in Rivers State through public private partnership, privatisation, commercialisation and enterprise development” in the state.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has restructured the development policies of his administration into a three point agenda with quality education, affordable healthcare and food sufficiency through agricultural development as key objectives.
The Governor said huge investments in these sectors are already yielding positive results on the lives of the people and assured of sustaining the gains while urging Rivers people to resist plans by detractors to use the national protest to instigate crisis in the state.
Governor Fubara who spoke at the commissioning of the Pressure Swing Oxygen Plant at Ogale in Eleme Local Government t, on Tuesday, said the establishment of the projects in Rivers State was a manifestation and recognition of the investments of the state in the health sector.
He urged the host community
and the entire Rivers State to own and protect the project for their benefit.
“What we are doing today is in line with our 3 point agenda. We might have so many things in mind or written down before we came on board, but half way into the journey, we found out that we need to redirect ourselves and understand the need of our people. The need for quality education, the need for affordable healthcare services, the need to put food on the tables of our people and that is where we brought this 3 point agenda. Healthcare, education and agriculture.
“We have spent and we are spending to make sure that Rivers State becomes a health tourism State. As at today the Zonal Hospitals are almost 70% completed.
“Let’s set the records straight, it is not our project. It is a UNICEF project supported by FG and other partners. But the unique thing about the project is it needed to be sited somewhere that people understand the need, people who are spending and making positive Investment in healthcare, and that is why we got that privilege.”
“It’s only those who love this State that will protect the interest of the State. Nobody who loves this State and would want to connive with people to destroy it. We love this State and we will do all we can to make sure that we support and protect its interest.”

By: Taneh Beemene

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that healthcare delivery, education and agriculture will be given priority attention in the 2025 fiscal year. The Governor also  declared that his administration will not undermine the mandate given to him by Rivers people but continue to dispense purposeful leadership in the state.
Governor Fubara said this while addressing newsmen shortly after the inspection of the Degema General Hospital under construction by the Rivers State Government.
The Governor, who was accompanied by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, during the inspection, said Rivers people deserved the best in infrastructural development and assured that his administration will work hard to put smiles on the faces of the people.
He said the inspection was to ascertain the level of work done on the project, noting that accommodation facilities for staff, nurses and other medical workers, including a modern mortuary and a laundry has been included in the new plan.
“We are here this afternoon, just like what happened yesterday, and if you could remember, I said part of our areas of concern, going forward, will be healthcare services. And yesterday I did mention that we were on inspection to check the Zonal Hospital covering that particular Senatorial District and today we will come here to see those of Degema, Ahoada and Omoku. But we are here in Degema today to assess the work ongoing.
“As you can see we don’t have a standard and befitting health facility here and that is why we need to put this place in order.
“Part of the areas that has been explained to me is the area earmarked for staff quarters for Doctors and Nurses, areas that will be used for development of a modern mortuary, and a medical facility must have a standard laundry. They have also shown me where they are doing the foundation. What we are doing is to assure our people that it is not just about we giving them road, and giving them other things, we need to protect them and give them quality healthcare services.
“Like I said, my target for 2025 is going to be healthcare, education and agriculture and this is just a start. We are here to assure our people that no matter what it is, we still have our eyes on the ball. We urge the good people of Degema to continue to support us as this government is purposeful and understand the need of the people.”
Governor Fubara, also last Friday,  embarked on a facility inspection of the Bori General Hospital under construction, and expressed satisfaction over the spate of work done by the contractors, which he said understood the vision and aspirations of his administration.
The Governor who was guided round the facility by the Hon Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, said the visit was to ascertain the level of work done on the project, and assured that his administration will live up to its decision to resuscitate all abandoned secondary health facilities in different parts of the state to effectively cater for the health needs of the people.
He said the previous plan for the health facility did not include accommodation and other complementary structures, but nurses and medical health officers quarters, including mortuary have been provided in the new plan for which funds have been released, noting that the facility will serve the entire Rivers South East Senatorial District.
“What we’re doing this afternoon is to inspect the Bori General Hospital that’s under construction. If you remember, I did promise our people that one of the most important areas of our budget for 2024,  will focus on Healthcare, Education and Agriculture, and part of what we promised our people is that all  general hospitals will be resuscitated”, Governor Fubara said.
The governor also assured that similar gestures will be extended to the Neuro Psychiatric Hospital at Rumuigbo for total refurbishment and effective service delivery, explaining that money had been released for the rehabilitation of 10 General Hospitals .
The Governor maintained that despite the challenges faced by his administration, God had remained faithful to him, and he will not falter in keeping faith with the mandate of Rivers people, adhering to the promises of good governance and development of the state.

By: Taneh Beemene.

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that his administration will remain focused and committed to delivering democratic dividends in the State despite the deliberate distractions from some quarters.
Addressing the leadership and members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts during a courtesy visit at Government House in Port Harcourt, last Friday, Governor Fubara said the major concern of his administration was to deploy the scarce resources of the State to better the lives and wellbeing of the people.
The governor recalled that when he was appointed the Accountant General in 2020, the public accounting reporting position of the State changed for the best because he understood the numbers and how to clearly present the details.
The governor said the prudent management of the commonwealth of the State has impacted the economy positively, shoring up the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state, which is used for effective project delivery, without recourse to borrowing.
He pointed out that, “As an organised government, when we came on board, we met a very big challenge. For 11 years, there was no promotion in the State Civil Service. So, imagine a government that inherited about 52,000 civil servants, and you want to pay them for years that they had been denied their dues.
“What we were paying before I came in was an average of N5.3billion. Let us even do 25 percent of it: it can’t be anything less than 8 point something billion that we are doing now. That was what we started paying.
“How much is our allocation? So, we needed to think outside the box. That was where we now did a rejig of our Internally Generated Revenue. And I can tell you today that all the projects we are doing, we don’t borrow,” he said.
According to Governor Fubara, education, health-care and agriculture will continue to receive priority attention by his administration in addition to developing other critical sectors of the economy.
“Education is the only instrument we can use to fight social vices. And we need quality healthcare. You need to be alive to even drive a good car on the roads. You can imagine how much we spend on medical tourism.
“Then, agriculture: we have to ensure food security and sufficiency. We have to feed ourselves to tame hunger. So, those are the targets of this Government.”
On his part, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Hon Bamidele Salam, said they were in the State for the first retreat of the committee.
Hon Salam explained that they chose the State because it is peaceful, and has a Governor who understands what governance truly means and has never been distracted by the political crisis confronting his administration.
He commended the Governor for achieving over 26 projects in his first 100 days in office, and urged him to continue to deliver dividends of democracy to Rivers people.
He also urged the Governor to continue to anchor his administration on peace, saying that without peace, there can never be any meaningful development in the State.
Governor Fubara, later on Friday, also hosted members of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee to Investigate the Turnaround Maintenance of Nigeria’s Refineries, led by its Chairman, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who paid him a courtesy visit at Government House in Port Harcourt.
The Governor, who commended the committee for carrying out the important oversight function, said his administration was aligning with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinibu to develop Rivers State and better the lot of the people and compliment the efforts of the President.
“We, as a State, before the commencement of the rehabilitation job, had a contribution that we wanted to make to support the work at the refinery because of the deplorable state of the East-West Road.
“There is a road: Woji-Aleto-Alesa Refinery Road. We are almost completing the bridge. It’s about 70 percent completed. We are doing almost the last part of it. With that road, it will help to decongest and reduce the trouble commuters face along the East-West Road while providing easy access, straight to the refinery.
“So, you can see that our Government is working in line, supporting the administration of President Bola Tinubu to give our people hope. and assurance that things will soon get better.
“And it is this role that you are playing, genuinely. And with the support of this State Government, that is the only way we can achieve the purpose of governance for everyone.
“When the refinery restarts production, there will be petroleum products available locally. The issue of importation will go down. We will now make impact, economy will grow, internally generated revenue will increase. More projects will be executed in this State. You can see that it’s a chain effect thing. So, I want to thank you”, he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Committee, Senator Uba, said the visit to Port Harcourt was a follow up to the earlier visit to Warri Refinery to assess the level of work done ahead of planned recommencement of operation of both the old and new refineries.
The Rivers State Executive Council, on Wednesday, gave approval to the State Government to spend the sum of N6.7billion for the reconstruction of the 5-kilometre long Okania-Ogbogoro Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
The approval was given at the Council’s 7th meeting, presided over by Governor Fubara, with the Deputy Governor, Prof Ngozi Odu, and other members of the cabinet in attendance.

By: Taneh Beemene