Issues

Amaechi’s Security Challenges, Strategies, Scorecard

Published

11 years ago

February 25, 2013

Preamble
In my continuous efforts to appraise and review the activities of the enigma they call, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the indefatigable Governor of Rivers State and undisputed Chairman of the Governors’ Forum of Nigeria and having successfully treated his exploits and issues of governance in Rivers State pertaining to areas of Finance, Education, Health, job creation and some other sectors, the challenge of writing on the security challenges or insecurity in Rivers State, I must confess was the most exigent as I was at a loss on how to start bearing in mind that this should be the area of my next consideration. In this regard, Hon. Chief Dakuku Peterside, Chairman House of Representatives Committee on (Downstream) Petroleum came to my aid with his revealing article titled ‘How to tackle insecurity in Nigeria’ in which he stated and I quote, “Security, law and order are the major preoccupation of any Government. Once a government gets this priority right, it has made the very first right step. Growing insecurity on the reverse side is the first sign of a failing state”
Poet and Political Philosopher, Samuel Taylor Coleridge view of security tallies with that of Hon Peterside when he stated, “the three great ends which a statesman ought to propose to himself in the government of a nation, are:
1. Security to possessors;
2. Facility to acquirers;
3. Hope to all” while Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi concurred by stating that, “Government must not be for one section of the society. It must be for the rich and the poor, emphasising the upliftment of the poor…”
With the above, let me therefore state that the main treatise of this attempt is to review the strategies adopted by the Rivers State Government under the watch of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in tackling the menace of insecurity in Rivers State prior to his assumption of office on 28thOctober, 2007 with the hope that it will serve as a model to other States in any part of the globe in addressing the security challenges in their domain. For matter of clarity, Rivers State is the hub of oil industry in Nigeria and very rich in hydrocarbons from which the nation draws its major revenue and because it was confronted with key security challenges especially the challenges of illegal bunkering, piracy, kidnapping and armed robbery this attempt is embarked upon.
The Type Of Rivers State Inherited By Gov Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi!
According to records, Port Harcourt, the State capital of Rivers State that Amaechi inherited was more like a war zone or aptly put a jungle where the fittest determines the fate of the lesser animals. It sounds pretty surprising but not unexpected that the city of Port Harcourt, a once very glamorous city, was ranked among the three most dangerous cities in the world by then. The human resources unit of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos. had ranked Port Harcourt with Baghdad, Yemen’s capital of Sana’a and Khartoum in Sudan, as the world’s most dangerous cities. Going by the ranking published by Bloomberg, Port Harcourt ranked with Baghdad as one of the world’s most dangerous cities for foreign workers as criminal gangs and militia groups seeking greater control of energy revenue step up attacks.
Ahamefula Ogbu, a Journalist with Thisday Newspapers described one of the scenes in the State at this period in these words, ‘Rambo could not have done better. With automatic rifles in their hands and hate, revenge and murder hanging around their necks, warring cultists took Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by storm for the second day running. Pandemonium broke out as residents ran for safety. It was sorrow, tears and blood. At the end of it all—or, more aptly, at the interval, for no one knows the end yet—15 persons had been dispatched to their early graves’ and true to this unsung prophet nobody knew the end as the next few days saw about eighty innocent souls wasted by an agitation uncommon to our people in the Niger Delta.
While to my late friend and brother, Mr. George Onah reporting for Vanguard Newspaper captured Port Harcourt before the assumption of office by Governor Amaechi in these words; “For many residents, the capital of Rivers State, hitherto the Garden City where life was lived to the fullest is no longer the place to live in as rivers of blood flow ceaselessly following an unending siege by militants, kidnappers, cultists, and criminals of other hue”
“Violence in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has gone full circle and the guns are still booming. The casualties are pilling, even as blood of defenceless citizens’ flow endlessly. Neither the Police nor the government has answers to the brigandage. Security outfits do not have official figures, record or reliable estimates of casualties in the Rivers State orgy of killings”.
“Even the number of deaths during the Nigerian Civil War had a consensus of informed opinion on the number of deaths, on both sides, which hovered, realistically around 600,000 and below. But the rapidity of casualties in the onslaught by gunmen on Rivers State cannot simply be pigeonholed. The currency of killings is alarming and the growth of the economy of the state is heading for the deep”.
“The pattern of the crime ranges from kidnapping of expatriates and children of wealthy parentage, to outright violent robbery. Cultism and political vices equally occupy a frightening position on the crime chart. The volatile atmosphere appears to have annulled whatever achievement of the peace and reconciliation committee of the government”.
As if both Ogbu and late Onah did not capture the picture correctly, Okey Ndibe, a respected opinion leader on national issues in Nigeria in his article during this period published by the Sahara Reporters one of the leading online media on Nigerian political activities titled ‘a blood soaked city’ described the happenings in Rivers State then in these words ‘That the once idyllic Port Harcourt was now a scarred place, a war zone, a city soaked in blood; the city under siege with thousands of citizens displaced; that its once quiescent boulevards and avenues were now ruled by marauding militiamen and by the fierce soldiers deployed to dislodge them. Sudden death by bullet was now a generalised hazard for the city’s trapped and hapless residents’.
Proffering an answer or rather solution out of this madness, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, an elder statesman and a onetime Federal Minister of Information in the first Republic advocated that the only solution to the lingering security crisis in Rivers State, ‘I implored President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua not to dilly-dally in imposing a state of emergency on Rivers State, not doing so would be tantamount to postponing the evil day’ He continued, ‘Omehia was not fit to be governor of Rivers State in fact he is a major part of the problem and an unserious and insensitive personality; where is the seriousness in Omehia? If he is a serious governor or politician, why should he abandon Rivers State when the state was still boiling to go and take part in a birthday bash in Abuja for his godfather, Peter Odili? We can’t fold our hands as elders, and continue watching situation degenerate.”
Affirming the unfortunate state of Rivers State then, an icon and Prince of Niger Delta Politics, Prince Tonye Princewill in a recent interview stated thus, “Rivers State, when Amaechi took over was a garrison state. Now that things have changed, people refer to him, like they do to Fashola as a performing governor though the only difference between the two is that Fashola had a foundation in Tinubu but in the case of Amaechi, it was not so!”.
The Challenges And Causes Of Insecurity In Rivers State
One of the major forces behind the menace of insecurity in Rivers State was class challenge and Lady Dorothy Alison captured this aptly when she stated, “The horror of class stratification, racism, and prejudice is that some people begin to believe that the security of their families… and communities depends on the oppression of others, that for some to have good lives there must be others whose lives are truncated and brutal”.
Affirming the truism by Lady Alison, Governor Amaechi enthused, “When we took over the reins of governance in the State we met a situation where people were being given cash, but we decided to take the extreme position of not giving money to people, but doing projects that would impact positively on the lives of the majority of our people”. This stand of the Governor to stop the method which was the practice hitherto of sharing State funds to some seasoned politicians and groups who in turn use it to sponsor militia groups that constitute security challenges in the State.
Apart from class challenges as postulated above, insecurity in Rivers State was occasioned by greed for power; empowering and arming our youths with sophisticated arms in order to undo political opponents in the State. Another great influence of insecurity was the wickedness of the politicians in undermining the future of the youths and misuse of public and the common patrimony of the State. Instead of investments that will create jobs for the teeming youths, the funds are distributed amongst friends and relations
According to Governor Amaechi who viewed insecurity in wider perspective stated, “Insecurity in Nigeria is caused by politicians and poverty pervading the country”. He stressed that armed robbery; kidnapping and Boko Haram insurgency were all products of the poverty occasioned by rapacious rulers. Accordingly, he said issues such as religion differences among the citizenry would only come to the fore when the political class had differences with one another in their sharing formula of the national cake, declaring that “when you see difference in religion, there is a particular political undertone. The governor noted that the situation in the country currently had been made worse by the mono-product status of its economy; a development he said had pitched the various regions and states against one another. He stressed that it was even worse that the Federal Government wielded enormous power and “made the centre a dispenser of patronage and rent.”
To Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, “inability of elected leaders to provide adequate security for the citizenry is an impeachable offence. The first offence governors commit is when they are unable to provide adequate security for the people. This is because the first oath taken by elected leaders is to protect life and property. It is the responsibility of the government to provide security for the people.”
Strategies Adopted To Address The Menace Of Insecurity
According to Noam Chomsky, “the U.S. international and security policy … has as its primary goal the preservation of what we might call “the Fifth Freedom,” understood crudely but with a fair degree of accuracy as the freedom to rob, to exploit and to dominate, to undertake any course of action to ensure that existing privilege is protected and advanced”. The fact remains that it seems that Governor Amaechi on assumption of office adopted this US security policy in tackling the menace of insecurity in the State as he went out exploiting every means humanly possible to arrest this ugly trend. Apart from declaring war on all the militia groups in the State and refusing any form of dialogue or negotiations with them, he ensured that the security organs in the State were well motivated and trained to tackle the menace of insecurity in the State.
Explaining further on how Governor Amaechi handled the security challenges of the State at this period, an influential member of Amaechi’s Administration, former commissioner for works and present member of the Nation’s House of Representatives, Hon. Dakuku Peterside in his article on insecurity in Nigeria stated as follows, “When I had the privilege of serving in the government of Rivers State under the leadership of Governor Amaechi, I observed that he placed high premium on security because he believed that security was the foundation upon which progress in every other facet of development depends. This is aside from government’s proactive disposition which drew substantially from intelligence gathering, surveillance and the fact that law enforcement agents could reasonably predict potential crime with near perfect accuracy.
Another interesting aspect of the Rivers model is the deployment of technology. Without sounding immodest, I can confidently say that the state’s security network is driven by excellent modern technology. Rivers was the first state to acquire a mobile scanning van known as back scatter. Around the Port-Harcourt metropolis, there are Gantry Scanners at strategic entry locations in Onne- Eleme Road, East-West Road, Choba Road, Oyibo Road, Ikwere Road, Aba Road and Mbiama Road among others”.
Throwing more light on the postulations of Peterside, a security expert and CEO, MPD Security Systems, Engr. David Meyer stated as follows, “The first step we took in Rivers State was to raise capacity among selected police personnel, over 200, through local and overseas training in Israel and other parts of the world on modern crime fighting techniques and intelligence gathering,” Meyer explained. Working with modern gadgets and substantial logistics including an Israeli trained concealed weapon detecting dog, these crossbred police team had since been strategically placed at main outskirt check posts witnessing mass movement in and out of Port Harcourt City. Others lead a number of metro patrol teams responding to security emergencies around the town and environs. These are far as the public can see.
Beyond public view, as part of Rivers current long term vision of security, Meyer pointed to underground application of ICT aided security hardware and software helping the police to sense and react to security situations with dispatch. This network of technology managed by experts from a hub which Meyer would not disclose its location for security reasons, employs the C4I urban surveillance cameras watching over the city and active 24hrs of the day in Port Harcourt and environs.
The interactions between the seen and unseen infrastructures, according to Meyer, account for the recent security operatives swift bursting of some of failed organised crime operations, including an attempted raid of a bank in the Mile 4 area of the city last year. “These measures have been working well and while the public may not know, it has lead to several arrests and we have gained convictions against suspects on account of the improved network”, he emphasised.
Supporting the views of Hon. Chief Peterside and Engr. Meyer, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Chibuike stated,. “We have done a lot about security. We are doing more. Before we came to office, kidnapping was a serious challenge. We have dealt with it substantially. We are finishing December, 2012 without a single report of kidnapping or armed robbery. We have specially trained policemen handling security. Barring any unforeseen circumstance, any moment from now, the Rivers State Government’s security web would be two surveillance helicopters stronger, laying foundation for a standing air wing to give the state 24-hour security coverage.. He said the helicopters; costing $30m (N4.5bn) with surveillance cameras to fly all over the city of Port Harcourt and other parts of the state would arrive at the end of December and commence operations in January, 2013. He stated that Rivers now has in place a technology reliable for tracking criminals and their hideouts.

Eze Chukwuemeka Eze

Issues

Investing In Nyesom Wike: A Story Of Dedication, Sacrifice And Ultimate Loss

Published

1 week ago

April 10, 2024

The Tide

In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.

Tele Ikuru

Issues

Is Okocha A Happy Man Being Perpetual Hireling?

Published

1 month ago

March 15, 2024

The Tide

The man Tony Okocha, the devastated tattered ragtag remnant Rivers APC factional, but Caretaker, Chairman, is known for being notoriously a hireling willing to play in the mud just for the pay or settlement. To Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, he did against Chief Nyesom Wike. To Senator Magnus Abe, he did against Rotimi Amaechi. To Chief Nyesom Wike, he did against Magnus Abe. Having maintained such unbefitting character trait, it is not surprising to see him at his demeaned best showing off his tainted skill of grandstanding and loquaciously struggling fruitlessly almost every day to castigate the popular Rivers people’s Governor with very glaring false, bogus and unsubstantiated claims such as:
1. That Governor Fubara is wasting state fund in the name of thanksgiving across 23 Local Government Areas.
2. That Governor Fubara has withheld Local Government funds.
3. That Governor Fubara runs the government without input from the State Executive Council.
4. That nothing is happening in the State with respect to governance.
To the above false claims of Tony Okocha, every reasonable, right thinking and well-meaning Rivers person would effortlessly puncture all as rascality and mendacity taken too far.
Apart from the fact that Governor Siminalayi Fubara had said he is not sponsoring the massive SIMplified Movement Thanksgiving events across the Local Government Areas of the State being organised by elated Rivers people who feel liberated from an era of overbearing and suppressive form of leadership in the State, Tony Okocha should be asked to prove his false claim with indisputable facts and figures. Until then, let Tony Okocha respect himself and learn to keep quiet as an elderly person who is saddled with such a responsible position as Rivers State Representative in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board. A position that places a huge responsibility on him to ensure that the core objectives of the commission are actualised in the State, by not only ensuring that Rivers State gets its fair share of its dues in terms of projects, programmes and activities, but by synergising with the state government on development matters concerning the state vis-a-vis the responsibilities of NDDC to the State. In summary, the SIMplified Movement is all about a happy and joyful people of Rivers State who have decided to stand and stick together to defend and uphold their common heritage and patrimony. It is a voluntary venture, not sponsored by the government.
To his claim that the Governor has withheld Local Government funds, Mr Tony Okocha should also be asked to prove that with facts and figures and explain why the Governor would do such. More so, what is Tony Okocha’s business, assuming, but not conceding, that a PDP Governor withholds money against PDP-led 23 Local Government authorities? Did Local Government workers across the state complain to Okocha, the meddlesome hireling, an acclaimed APC Caretaker Committee Chairman in Rivers State?
On his ignorant and false claim that the Governor runs the government without input from the state exco, Okocha, the busybody wannabe should explain how he was employed or engaged as the spokesperson of members of the Rivers State Executive Council. He should also tell us his source of information to that effect, if it is not just a proof that he is making himself known as a perpetually irredeemable hireling notoriously good for playing the spoiler’s role.
On Mr Okocha’s assertion, probably, borne out of lack of more convincing lies, that nothing is happening in the State with respect to governance, is sure a proof that the man is only acting a bad and an unsellable script to justify the reward of expected gratifying filthy lucre, which is the compelling reason for condescending so low and evilly so. How else is governance measured, if not by executing meaningful and impactful projects, giving hope, inspiring and putting smiles on the faces of the people with joy of fulfilment in their hearts, both civil servants and everyone living and doing business in the State? Is Okocha blind to see and deaf to hear of the good works of the Governor Fubara led Rivers State Government? Civil servants are happy, teachers are highly elated. Several projects are ongoing. Investors are trooping in. The health sector, education, agriculture, sports have been highly boosted under Governor Fubara-led administration. To Okocha, there’s no governance in the State because patronage of free money is not getting to him from the Governor but from other sources that are likely against the Governor.
Let Tony Okocha weep more. Rivers State is breathing fresh air already and is liberated.
Let Tony Okocha tell us how he has, so far, as Rivers State Representative in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), clearly effected development in the State through the NDDC, and why he lied that there was Cholera outbreak with deaths recorded in Soku in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area with the intent of raking in about ¦ N5billion for non-existent mitigation programmes?

Odike is Special Assistant to Rivers State Governor on Social/New Media .

Bernard C. Idike

Issues

Day Asari-Toru Declared Massive Support For Fubara

Published

1 month ago

March 11, 2024

The Tide

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and politician who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. He was a member of the Democratic Party and is the only United States President to have served more than two terms.
In one of his popular quotes, he said, “The creed of our democracy is that liberty is acquired and kept by men and women who are strong and self-reliant, and possessed of such wisdom as God gives mankind – men and women who are just, and understanding, and generous to others — men and women who are capable of disciplining themselves. For they are the rulers and they must rule themselves.”
This explains the recent gathering of creme la creme of Asari-Toru political gladiators converged at the inauguration of the Simplified Movement, ASALGA chapter to reiterate their unflinching support for the Rivers State Governor, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara whose mantra revolves around liberation.
The event which took place at the Autograph in Port Harcourt on the 1st of March, 2024, to galvanise strong support for Governor Fubara attracted over 500 members of the Simplified Movement from the Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The gathering of supporters of Governor Fubara’s government, under the umbrella of the Simplified Movement, the ASALGA chapter led by an astute politician, former member of the Federal House of Representatives and two- time member of the Rivers State Executive Council as Commissioner, Chief Hon. Paworiso Samuel Horsfall comprised both the old and young generation political helmsmen drawn from all the 13 Wards of the local government area.
The nerve-““““““wracking gathering had the likes of the 1999 democratic system pioneer Chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government Council and former two-time Special Adviser to ex-Governor Nyesom Wike, Hon. Opakirite Mackson Jackreece; former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Adokiye Young-Harry; former member of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Daisy West and former Special Adviser to ex-Governor Nyesom Wike, Chief Hon. Iboroma Norman Wokoma.
Others were the incumbent Vice Chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government Council, Hon. (Mrs.) Tekena Wokoma; former Commissioner of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Hon. Dr. Hope Barango; the South-West Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Sule Amachree and the Secretary of the Local Government chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Cladious Princewill; former Chief of Staff of Council, Hon. Ajumogobia West and former Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ASALGA, Hon. Onari Awo Tariah.
Also present at the event were past caretaker committee chairmen of the Local Government Council including, Hon. Waite Harry, Hon. Dawari Hamilton Ibinabo, Hon. Wright Warmate and former Deputy Mayor of the Port Harcourt City Council, Hon. Adokiye Horsfall amongst others. My humble self belongs to the movement. The list is inexhaustible.
Speaking at the inauguration, the member representing Asari-Toru/Akuku-Toru Federal Constituency and leader of the Asari-Toru political family, Hon. Boma Goodhead assured the people of the commitment of the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to extend visible dividends of democracy to the people of ASALGA.
The federal lawmaker who spoke through her representative, Dr. Sule Amachree, said Governor Fubara means well for Rivers people, particularly the people of ASALGA and urged them to remain calm, peaceful and resolute in their support to the administration of the State Governor.
“His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara is the Governor ordained by God to liberate Rivers people from the snares of poverty and oppression. He is God-sent to bring visible and even development to Rivers State and Asari-Toru people are on the top of that agenda of development,” she said.
Hon. Goodhead reiterated her confidence in the capacity of the leader of the Simplified Movement, ASALGA chapter, Chief Hon. Paworiso Samuel Horsfall to mobilise massive support and a huge source of encouragement for the Government of Sir Siminalayi Fubara to succeed.
“I urge you to continue to stand firm with our Governor. Be rest assured that His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara is a man of peace, focused and determined to deliver on the mandate given to him by the people of Rivers State. He will not fail you,” she said.
In his speech, the leader of the ASALGA chapter of the Simplified Movement, Chief Hon. Paworiso Samuel Horsfall described the movement as a child of necessity born out of the hunger of Rivers people for a paradigm shift from oppression to liberation.
“As witnessed across the length and breadth of Rivers State, the Simplified Movement is a child of necessity, born out of the hunger for a paradigm shift from oppression to liberation, with one core objective to promote and defend the interests of Rivers State and her people. It is on this account, we stand as dependable allies giving strong support to the Executive Governor, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara in his pursuit of peace and commitment to the genuine development of Rivers State.
“It is our position that with the elections come and gone, it is practically a time to face governance and to ensure deliverables of dividends to the people of Rivers State in the atmosphere of peace, security and stability,” he said.
Chief Samuel Horsfall explained that Rivers people saw the leadership qualities needed to achieve the sole objective to genuinely defend and promote the interest of the State in Governor Fubara, hence the spontaneous massive support expressed in the birth of the Simplified Movement.
He recounted avalanche of achievements made by Governor Fubara within six months in office. “We appreciate the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara for his resilience and determination to make a difference. It is on record and attestable by all, the numerous projects being executed by his administration.
“Such as the ongoing construction of the gigantic Port Harcourt Ring Road project, the 20,000 housing units for low income earners, the Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo-Nkoro Unity road, the near completion of the 10km Old Port Harcourt-Bori road, the Emohua-Kalabari road, the 6.5km Woji-Alesa-Refinery link road and the inclusion of the remaining part of the Trans-Kalabari road project in the 2024 budget. “Moreover, the promotion of the State civil servants, first time in history payment of N100,000.00 Christmas bonus to civil servants across board, approval of promotions and implementation of N30,000.00 minimum wage for local government workers and the N4 billion single digit interest loans facility for Small and Medium Scale business operators in Rivers State. All these achievements within six months in office are eloquent testimonies of Governor Fubara to deliberately improve the welfare of Rivers people.
“We are convinced that such a proven great mind and well experienced, tested and trusted administrator/technocrat, Governor Fubara has demonstrated the capacity to deliver effectively the needed democratic dividends to Rivers people. It is on this convention we are gathered here for the umpteenth time to reaffirm our unalloyed support and commitment to his administration,” Chief Samuel Horsfall declared.
He disclosed that the gathering was to put in place citizens mobilisation strategy to forge a collaborative bond with the Governor to foster partnership for the development of ASALGA and the State. He, therefore, advised those he called detractors of Governor Fubara’s administration to desist forthwith and allow the Governor to remain focused in his quest to deliver on his mandate.
“All detractors should desist from further attacks on the Governor and the Chief of Staff, Government House, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie and allow the Governor to focus on the delivery of the good policies and programmes to Rivers people. We unequivocally condemn attempts by disgruntled Abuja politicians to employ intimidation antics against the former Speaker of the 10th State Assembly and current Chief of Staff, Government House, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie and others who are standing on the path of justice and good conscience for the collective good of Rivers State.
“We equally urge the Nigerian Police and other security agencies to be discreet in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities in the State and not to allow themselves to be used by selfish individuals who do not mean well to fuel political crisis in Rivers State.
Chief Samuel Horsfall also commended the federal lawmaker, Hon. Boma Goodhead for her doggedness and resilience in supporting Governor Fubara since the wake of the political crisis in the State.
Several other personalities spoke to express their support to the State Governor and urged the people to ASALGA to maintain their peaceful disposition and remain steadfast in the Simplified Movement to give the state government maximum support to continue to render good governance to Rivers people.
Highlights of the event were the inauguration of the elders and stakeholders of the Simplified Movement for the 13 Wards as well as the executive committee of the movement in Asari-Toru Local Government Area.