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Dev Strides: Wike Has Redefined Governance, Nsirim Affirms
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has within the last six years in office demonstrated clearly that he is a man with vision, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, has said.
Nsirim said this while speaking, last Tuesday, on a live radio programme about the upcoming commissioning of 16 legacy projects and the flay-off of 23 others to mark the two years’ second term in office of Governor Nyesom Wike.
The commissioner reiterated that before Wike assumed office as governor, he envisioned what is called the NEW Rivers Vision.
He, therefore, called on Rivers people and professional bodies to support the state government in its efforts to fully implement the vision’s blueprint for the benefit of all Rivers people.
“And that NEW Rivers Vision blueprint encompasses what he wanted Rivers State to look like in terms of healthcare delivery, education, agriculture, women empowerment, sports, security, etc.
“If you look at these major sectors of Rivers State economy, you will find that Nyesom Wike’s touch has redefined governance in such a way that even those who are in position gladly accept that he has made a mark.
“Let’s take, for instance, healthcare delivery: if you recall, before this time, all the health facilities in the state were moribund. For now, as we speak, all the health centres, general hospitals in all the local government areas have been rehabilitated and equipped”.
According to Nsirim, the state now has five zonal hospitals; the former Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital has also been converted and equipped to a teaching hospital for the Rivers State University by the Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration.
“If you come to education, we had a situation where facilities were broken down, and you begin now to see the Nyesom Wike’s touch making the difference.
“I give you a few examples: if you go to Government Secondary School, Rumuokwuta; Birabi Grammar School, Bori; Nyemoni Grammar School, Abonnema; Kalabari Girls’ High School, Buguma; Government Craft Development Centre; left to die, have been rehabilitated and are now looking like polytechnics people have in some other parts of the country.
“Also, primary schools have been rehabilitated and equipped. So, you have the education sector in Rivers State bubbling with the state government bearing the cost of SSCE and JAMB fees for Rivers State students. It has never happened before in this state. This is because the man Wike has come to ensure that education is brought closer to the people.
“If you come to agriculture, we have what we call agricultural revolution, which will kick-off with the inauguration of the State Cassava Processing Company at Oyigbo on Thursday.
“That plant is a demonstration of the kind of agricultural revolution we are talking about because the company has facilities to get to the farmers, get the cassava and transport it to the plant. Already, we have 3,000 uptakers for that project. It is something novel.”
Speaking on road infrastructure development, Nsirim said Rivers State has witnessed what could be called an infrastructural revolution.
“Those who know Port Harcourt, the city centre right now, will miss their way when they come into Port Harcourt because of what Governor Nyesom Wike is doing.
“When he said he was building the first three flyovers, a lot of people thought it was a mere political rhetoric. How can you build three flyovers at the same time? But, of course, you can see that all those flyovers have been completed, and six more are being built across the city centre, and when people see the flyovers, they say: why is this man doing this? But I call Governor Wike a man who is building infrastructure for tomorrow.
“Rivers State remains the headquarters of the hydrocarbon industry in Nigeria. Just a few days ago, NLNG commissioned its corporate headquarters here. Train 7 of NLNG will soon take off. Now, if you see the influx of people who come into Port Harcourt because of the economic viability of this state, you will understand that building that kind of road infrastructure here is something that we all will cherish in years to come.
“People forget things in a hurry. Before Nyesom Wike came in, a road like Elelenwo/Akpajo Road now Justice Iche Ndu Road was impassable. Garrison/Trans-Amadi Road was impassable. There was no connection between Peter Odili Road and Woji. But now, travelling on those roads no longer takes hours because Wike has come to create a new network of roads.
“Today, we have for the people of Ogoni ethnic nationality, the Saakpenwa-Bori Road, which became something that politicians used over the years to lure them for support. Today, Wike has broken the jinx by building a dual carriageway with streetlights.
“For the people of Abonnema, I am sure that they never envisioned that they will have a Ring Road. You need to visit Abonnema now, a city that used to have one narrow road within.
“Are we talking about roads for the people of Sira and Kira? Are we talking about road for the people of Ibaa and Obele, Isiokpo people, Emohua people or the 21-kilometre road that will be commissioned for the people of Odufor/Omuoyo in Etche, who had never had a motorable road? Or is it the road to be commissioned for the people of Umueze/Umogberi/Eberi in Omuma, and the riverine people of Opobo during this anniversary celebration?
“So, we have a governor, who is investing in infrastructure development because, if you have the right infrastructure in place, then, you can be sure that economic activities will thrive. Without the right infrastructure, economic activities will not thrive.
“If you come to sports development, Real Madrid Academy has become a major talking point in Nigeria. When the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, came to commission the Real Madrid Academy, he said clearly that Nyesom Wike is a man who is thinking ahead, that in fact, the Federal Government will copy from what he is doing here. We are believing that in the next few years, children from the academy will not only play football abroad but will also be equipped academically.”
He described Wike as a master strategist who is fully prepared to change the narrative with a developmental agenda to set new records.
He advised the opposition to stop demarketing the state with claims of non-existing level of insecurity when the Federal Government has failed to deliver on its promises.
“We must stop painting the state black simply because we want to score cheap political point. When we do that, we drive away investors unnecessarily,” he said.
He dismissed claims by detractors, adding that “Rivers State is safe. There is no part of the world where you will not find security challenges and the pockets of criminal incidents being used to paint Rivers State as insecure. The commissioning of the NLNG headquarters alone proves that, indeed, Rivers State is safe.
“As a commissioner for information and communications, I am proud to be associated with Wike’s government because I have seen that he is committed to leave Rivers State better than he met it,” he said.
The Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) has unveiled measures to enthrone ease of doing business and win back the confidence of the business community.
The Director-General of the Agency, Dr Chamberlain Peterside, unveiled the plans at the Breakout Session of RSIPA at the ongoing 18th Port Harcourt International Trade Fair, at the Obi Wali International Cultural Centre, in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Peterside said the agency was poised to free the state from accumulation of wrong narratives that branded it over the years as unsafe for business.
He, however, admitted that many things had gone wrong in the past where regulators joined to make the business environment difficult for investors.
He announced that the agency was rather focused on actions, solutions, and results as adopted in the mission statement of the Board.
“Our task is no mean feat. We are dealing with the perception risk that over several years branded the state as unsafe. We are also faced with the challenges of dealing with the lack of cohesion amongst MDAs, policy inconsistencies, multiple taxation, incessant harassment by miscreants, red tape and delays in obtaining operating permits, high cost of operations and opaque public sector,” he said.
“It is about listening to the investors in the field and ensuring that MDAs are carried along, hence the imperative for the setting up of our One-Stop-Center”, he added.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, who represented the state governor, said the Fubara administration was ready to listen to the business community to see ways of reducing impediments to investments.
He listed the stages of actions being undertaken by the governor as outlined in his 37-page blue print to revive the economy of Rivers State.
The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, who was presented at the event as a star investor and promoter of Rivers State reputation, said for the plans of the investment promotion agency to materialize, an enabling law should replace the Executive Order that established the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency.
He said this would insulate the agency from political instability and remove fear in the minds of investors about its sustainability.
According to him, protection precedes promotion and Local Direct Investment (LDIs) is what attracts and promotes Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs).
“It is the rat at home that reveals to the one in the bush that there is fish in the kitchen”, he added.
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?The Mayor of Housing who is also the CEO of the Alesa Highlands Sustainable Green Smart City said that Port Harcourt is like a business empire under lock and key because it is not protecting its own and also not promoting its own enough for investors to come in.
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?In the area of land documentation and inventory, China urged Rivers State Government to borrow a leaf from Abuja and adopt the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in dealing with land and property registration and documentation for ease of doing business.
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?He said Lagos understood the power of business information, adding “this creates the impression that if you are not doing it in Lagos, you are not doing it in Africa.
“We need to shout louder than Lagos, because we need more investments than Lagos and the structural integrity of Abuja. When you marry both, Rivers State would be wonderful and become green with investments,” he said.
In her speech, the President of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, called on the state government to look into the menace of parked trucks now turning Trans-Amadi into a risk zone.
She outlined the activities of the PHCCIMA and invited investors and businesses to the Port Harcourt economic hub, saying peace has returned.
The Director, Investors Relations of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Mrs Lovina Kayode, urged Rivers State to make haste and catch up on Ease of Doing Business, saying the Council has come to help businesses in the state.
Mrs Kayode, who represented the Executive Secretary/CEO of NIPC, Aisha Rimi, commended the Mayor of Housing and his counterpart, Mr. Oliver Biedima of Rainbow Heritage Group, for their decision to invest in Rivers State, saying it is a proof that Rivers State is safe for investors and their investments.
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In his remarks, Oliver Biedemi of Rainbow Heritage Group urged government to give the private investors chance to develop the economy, saying ordinarily government does not have the funds to develop the economy.
Happy Birthday Chief Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON
Honourable Minister Federal Capital Territory
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We’ll Drive Tinubu’s Vision in Rivers With Vigour – Fubara …Inaugurates Dualized Ahoada/Omoku Road ….Debunks Rift With RSHA
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that he will lead Rivers people to galvanize support for President Bola Tinubu to drive the vision and objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda in the State with vigour.
The governor, who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, explained that his decision to join the APC was not for personal interest but for the overall benefit of Rivers State.
Fubara disclosed these while inaugurating the extension of the dualized Ahoada/ Omoku Express road in Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
He commended the contracting firm, Julius Berger, for timely delivery of the project, saying the project is a campaign promise fulfilled which will bring economic benefits to the people and tackle issues of insecurity associated with the route.
He said his administration has remained focused in delivering democratic dividends in the state despite facing glaring challenges.
The governor thanked the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas for their continuous support, and urged his supporters to remain steadfast and also support President Tinubu who he said, has demonstrated love to Rivers State as a father.
Fubara denied having rift with the Rivers State House of Assembly, stating that his meeting with the lawmakers was stalled as a result of delay in the agreed meeting to be convened by former Governor Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders for him to meet with the state lawmakers.
“I have made every effort to meet with the Assembly members, but it is not within my leadership to initiate the meeting process.
“The arrangement was for my leader, Wike, and the elders led by Anabraba to call for a meeting with the the lawmakers.
“I’m a gentleman and principled. I can’t go behind to call them when we’ve already agreed. Whoever that tell them that I don’t want to meet with them, or I rejected proposal meant for them isn’t saying the truth,” Fubara said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry Works, Mr Austin Ezekiel-Hart, who gave the project description, said the delivery of the project was a fulfillment of long time dream by the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas.
He said the road was previously a single lane and has now been dualised to 14.6 meters wide, complete with solar-powered streetlights with drainages.
He said the road significantly would reduce travel time between Ahoada and Omoku while improving economic activity in the region.
In his welcome address, Chairman of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area, Hon. Chuku Shedrack Ogbogu, described the road as a symbol of unity, oneness, and development, thanking the governor for fulfilling his campaign promises.
On his part, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. Peer Lusbash, said the project was awarded to his company in 2023 with a completion period of 18 months which was achieved in best quality.
He added that Julius Berger enjoyed a good support from the Fubara administration, and assured to complete all ongoing projects being handled by Julius Berger on specification, especially the Ring Road project which is a legacy project.
