The Rivers State Commissioner for Environment, Hon Sydney Gbara, has urged the Class of 1990 of Birabi Memorial Grammar School (BMGS), Bori, not to allow politics and partisan affiliations to divide them, but remain focused and deploy their wealth of experience and expertise in their various fields of endeavour to the service of Rivers State and humanity.
The Commissioner, who gave the charge when the Class of 90 BMGS Bori, his former classmates and friends, paid him a courtesy visit in his office last week, expressed appreciation over the visit, stating that it rekindles the bond of friendship and fun shared over the years.
He said the reunion which relives the vigour of youth and formative years, will not only spur him to greater service as a good ambassador, but engender more love, open new vistas of mutual trust, opportunities and  foster a common ground to work together for the development of the State.
The Commissioner pointed out that the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara is committed to developing Rivers State and charged the group to key into the Governor’s development vision.
In her remarks, leader of the group, Dr Ethel Aluzim, said the Class 90 of Birabi Memorial Grammar School (BMGS), Bori was on the visit to thank the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, congratulate one of their own, Hon Tambari Sydney Gbara on his appointment as Commissioner for Environment in Rivers State as well as  encourage him to serve the state with diligence.
She said the group will continue to contribute their quota for the development of the state and partner with the commissioner to succeed.
On her part, the Senior Prefect (Girls) of Class 90 (BMGS), Dr Yirakpoa Ikaba, thanked the Rivers State Governor for finding Hon Gbara worthy to serve the state in the capacity of Commissioner for Environment and urged the commissioner to count on the total support of the Class 90 BMGS Bori to  succeed in the discharge of his official assignment.
Also speaking, a member of the group, Dr Boma Omubo Pepple, said the Class 90 BMGS were delighted to identify with Hon Gbara who has done them proud and implored him to keep the flag of success and meritorious service flying.

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