News
Old PH Township Wears New Look, As Residents Hail Wike
When Chief Nyesom Wike came on board on May 29, 2015, he promised to implement an urban renewal policy aimed at revamping the outlook of Port Harcourt metropolis.
The plan came in two fronts: “Operation Zero Pothole” and massive road construction. To achieve this he divided the city into two as he awarded the project to two multinationals – Julius Berger Nigeria and Chinese Construction Company (CCCE).
While Julius Berger is to oversee works in the Old Port Harcourt Township area comprising adjoining Streets of Niger, Bonny and Victoria stretching down to Borokiri, CCCE to oversee works in Diobu and Government Reserved Areas.
So, between May and October when the governor celebrated his 100 days in office, Julius Berger achieved a massive milestone when it completed the road leading to Borokiri waterfront with two massive drains emptying into the creeks bordering the area.
Currently, residents of Borokiri are enjoying a smooth ride to their houses, including a flood free environment in many homes within the axis.
Shortly after completing the Borokiri Road, the governor commenced the reconstruction of Creek Road, a major artery link to the heart of the Old City. Not only was Creek Road notorious for its traffic jam and roadside markets, the road became a trap due to abandoned road reconstruction work by the previous administration.
Due to the poor work executed by the construction firm, the road became more dilapidated than before with poorly built drains. The project was reawarded to the German Construction firm, Julius Berger Nigeria Limited.
Today from Creek Road stretching to Tourist Beach is now a new glieglight district with night life booming more than before.
A resident of the area Comrade Iyaye Johnson told The Tide that the new urban renewal in Old Port Harcourt township is unprecedented”, though the past administration tied to reconstruct the roads, but it was not a solid job, and that is why we commend Wike for the reconstruction”.
According to Comrade Johnson, “from Captain Amangala, Bishop Johnson to Tourist Beach the drains are very good and the water flashes down into the river”.
What excites him the more is the ongoing reconstruction work on Bonny Street He believes that the current project will cover adjoining streets of Victoria and Bendel.
Another resident who spoke to The Tide on the project is Osaki Konibo, who runs a computer business centre on Bonny Street.
“I have lived in this street for 14 years,” Konibo said, “before the current work there used to be flooding around here and many businesses was affected”
The young businessman is confident that once the project is completed business will bounce back, though currently most of the access to the adjoining streets have been blocked to allow smooth construction works.
Patrick Alalibo recalled that Bonny Street was among the streets that was revamped by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2014-2015, but observed that the project was poorly executed.
“The drains were totally blocked before now, “ Alalibo recalled, they just poured tar and dug a very shallow gutter for us but I want to thank Governor Wike for remembering us again”.
Johnson further said that before now, “all these streets were in bad shape, especially Victoria Street, but I’am happy the governor has approved that Bonny Street should be rebuilt.
He wants the project to be extended to other streets as he commended Julius Berger for the good job they did to revamp Captain Amangala and Adaka Boro Streets.
Commenting on the ongoing work, Emmanuel Frank remarked, “this work is commendable and we thank the government for remembering us here in town”.
Frank is one of the many youths on Bonny, Victoria and Bendel Streets who subsist from watching over vehicles parked by those who go to buy wares from Creek Road market. They make brisk money from the car owners who park in front of the houses on the Street.
By allowing vehicles to be parked in front of their houses, they ask for security fees. “Since this project started our little business have stopped”, Frank lamented to The Tide.
The same view was expressed by Alalibo who said, “they blocked all the whole access points into the Streets making it difficult for us to survive”.
With their business shut down, most of them accused the construction firm of not engaging them in the project.
“We are not engaged”, Alalibo declared, “and we want the governor to know about it. As residents here we are supposed to be engaged in the menial jobs on site but we are not”.
He is of the view since many of them lack jobs, hence they engage in providing security and parking space to those who visit Creek Road market.
Another issue bothering the residents of the adjoining Streets to Creek Road market is the dumping of wastes by those selling fish in the area.
Frank stated, “Once it’s evening time we can’t stay in our houses because of the bad odour coming out from the market”.
He said most of the wastes are rotten meats and fish thrown into the drains by the market women, as he called on the authorities to intervene.
If the activities of the market women are not checked Franc maintained that soon the new drainage being built will be blocked by wastes.
Alalibo wants the market to be relocated from the neighbourhood, as it poses health threat to those living around the area.
“There is so much mosquito and rat from the drains because of wastes from rotten fish and meat thrown into them”, Alalibo said.
The same view was expressed by Konibo, “we have fresh fish sellers around here and they dump their waste into the drainage. Government should try and move the market outside here”.
Konibo insists activities of Creek Road Market is fast affecting the safety and health of residents in thearea.
A visit to Creek Road Market shows that with the reconstruction of the road and coupled with the road barricades built to restrict roadside hawking and selling, the market is now being pushed into adjoining streets and Bonny Street is the most affected.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has described the late Chief Albert Korubo Horsfall as a distinguished statesman whose contributions to national development brought honour and distinction to the Kalabari Kingdom and Rivers State.
Fubara said Horsfall’s life of service, patriotism, integrity and commitment to humanity had left an enduring legacy that would continue to inspire generations.
The governor spoke through the Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Dr Dagogo Wokoma, at the funeral service of the late elder statesman last Saturday in Buguma, Asari-Toru Local Government Area of the State.
He described Horsfall as a patriotic Nigerian whose leadership and dedication to the country’s development earned him a place in the nation’s history.
“Chief Horsfall was a distinguished statesman whose life was defined by service, patriotism, integrity and commitment to humanity.
“His contributions to our nation, particularly through his service as Director-General of the State Security Service, pioneer Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency and Chairman of OMPADEC, remain significant milestones in our national history,” Fubara said.
The governor noted that the late Horsfall’s contributions to national security, intelligence administration and the development of the Niger Delta would remain part of his enduring legacy.
“His legacy of leadership, national service and dedication to development will remain an enduring source of inspiration to generations yet unborn,” he added.
Fubara urged the bereaved family, the Kalabari people and other Nigerians to uphold the values of peace, unity and selfless service exemplified by the late elder statesman.
The funeral service attracted several dignitaries, including the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), a representative of the Bayelsa State Governor, the Managing Director of NDDC, Chairman of PENDEF and the Regent of the Kalabari Kingdom.
Also in attendance were the Rivers State Commissioner for Education, the Commissioner for Special Projects and other government officials, traditional rulers and stakeholders.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to partner with local government councils that prioritize the welfare and development of people at the grassroots.
Fubara stated this last Thursday in Nkoro Town during the commissioning of the newly built Sir Siminalayi Fubara Corps Members’ Lodge, executed by Hon. James A. James, the Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Sunny Ewule, the governor said the project goes beyond a building to represent hope, hospitality and responsible leadership.
According to him, providing decent and safe accommodation for Nationl Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who leave their comfort zones to serve in communities is the least government can do.
“Today we are not just commissioning a building, we are commissioning hope, hospitality and responsible leadership. The Chairman of Opobo/ Nkoro LGA, Hon. James A. James has understood a very simple truth that those who come to serve us must serve with dignity,.
“Our young graduates who serves under the NYSC scheme leave the comfort of their homes and travel far to contribute to our communities, they teach our children, they work in our health centres, and they become parts of our families.
“The least we can do is give them a decent, safe and befitting place to lay their heads. What Hon. James A. James has done today is in total alignment with the vision of this administration, an administration that believes in people, that prioritises welfare and that believes development must be felt in every local government and not just in Port Harcourt” he said.
Fubara further urged the beneficiaries of the corpers lodge to make good use of the facilities of the newly built edifice and be good ambassadors of Nigeria, respect the culture and traditions of the host community while continue to serve with dedication and patriotism.
“This Corpers lodge will enhance the security and welfare of serving corps members, boost their morale and make Opobo/Nkoro and even more attractive place for posting, it is a strategic investment in human capital and in peace building,” he said.
He commended the Opobo/Nkoro Council Chairman for aligning with his administration’s vision of ensuring development is felt in all 23 local government areas of the State, and not just in Port Harcourt, adding that the lodge is a strategic investment in human capital, security and peace building.
In his goodwill message, the Rivers State NYSC Coordinator, Mr. Moses Oleghe, said the accommodation was 85 percent of Corps members’ challenges.
Oleghe thanked Governor Fubara for the recent increase in the State allowances for Corps members to N35,000 for those in 21 rural areas and N20,000 for those in Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City LGAs, describing the gesture as a moral booster for the corps members.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has secured an offer of specialised training for up to 5,000 Nigerian police personnel under a proposed security cooperation involving Nigeria, the United States and Italy.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, disclosed this in a statement issued at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, at the weekend.
The initiative is aimed at strengthening the operational capacity of the Nigeria Police Force to tackle insurgency, terrorism, kidnapping, arms trafficking and other emerging security threats across the country.
According to the statement, the proposed training programme will focus on counter-insurgency operations, intelligence-led patrols and tactical operations, particularly in difficult rural and forested environments.
Other areas of training include critical infrastructure protection, digital and scientific forensics, cybercrime investigations, explosives detection, financial investigations, asset tracing and anti-extortion operations.
The programme is expected to extend beyond the Police Mobile Force to other specialised units, including explosive ordnance disposal and forensic teams.
As part of the engagement, Disu met with the Commander-General of the Italian Carabinieri, Lieutenant-General Salvatore Luongo, to explore areas of technical assistance, professional training and institutional cooperation.
The police chief and his delegation also visited the Carabinieri Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units in Vicenza, Italy, where they assessed training facilities and explored opportunities to adapt specialised policing programmes to Nigeria’s security needs.
Proposals discussed during the visit included command courses for 40 senior police officers, leadership training for 100 junior commanders and the deployment of a mobile assistance team to support Police Mobile Force training schools in Gwoza, Borno State, and Ila-Orangun, Osun State.
The discussions also covered the development of a national stability policing doctrine and standard operating procedures to improve professionalism, operational coordination and civilian protection, particularly in communities recovering from conflict.
Other areas of proposed cooperation include canine operations, forensic science and mounted policing, including horse breeding and local capacity development for effective public order management.
To formalise the proposed partnership, the IGP has initiated moves towards a Memorandum of Understanding covering specialised training, technology transfer and operational procedures.
He also invited an Italian Carabinieri assessment team to Abuja to identify priority needs and develop implementation arrangements.
Disu reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to international partnerships that will strengthen operational readiness, improve investigative capacity and enhance the protection of lives and property.
The statement did not, however, indicate when the proposed training programme would commence or provide a definite implementation timetable.
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