Illuminating the second phase of the #OurState OurResponsibility advocacy campaign flagged off last week, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim says the hitherto restless and relentless opposition and armchair critics of Governor Nyesom Wike administration in the state are now confounded by his gargantuan achievements in human capital and infrucfactural development so much so that they are themselves eager to change the negative narrative they bandy about the state.
Nsirim, in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, Tuesday, recalled how the first phase of the advocacy campaign mobilized the masses of the people and changed the negative narrative about the state orchestrated by those he described as detractors, said the opposition is so overwhelmed that it has pocketed self pride prefatory to drumming support for Governor Nyesom Wike over his infrastructural development of the state.
Notwithstanding their antics, the Information and Communications Commissioner insisted that with the avowal of Governor Wike to persistently deliver democracy dividends until his handover day, Rivers people should start counting their blessings and be well involved in the renewed advocacy campaign now hinged more on citizens’ participation.
Recalling how the first phase of the advocacy campaign laid bare “the see-it-yourselves evidence of Wike’s uncommon efforts at galvanizing the state into greater heights”, Nsirim hinted that the past administration which could not pay workers’ salary for four months and which predicted Wike’s failure in project execution is now hiding its face in shame, given the prompt payment of workers salary and massive infrastructural development in the twenty three local government areas of the state.
The commissioner stated that the awards Governor Wike has won and keep winning from reputable media organizations are a testimony of his hardwork, prudence and purposefulness, insisting that he remains the Governor to beat in the country.
He said while Wike’s contemporaries have been blaming the lull in projects executions in their state to the deleterious impact of Covid-19 on revenue generation, the state governor has continued to deploy his ingenuity to making Rivers State the reliable index of development in Nigeria.
“Here is a man who met an empty treasury upon assumption of office in 2015. He was not even given a handover note in 2015. He started from the scratch. He is thus a man with a vision, a man who has the backing of God Almighty, a prudent manager of resources”, Nsirim further stated.
Describing Wike as a God’s gift to the people of the state, Nsirim recalled how women in 2019, fought soldiers who were snatching ballot boxes at polling units, stressing that the governor has divine mandate to govern the state owing to his love for the people and the state.
He harped on the imperatives of citizens participation on the second phase of the #OurStateOurResponsibility advocacy campaign, adding that beyond the incentives that abound for winners of the various competitions, it was an opportunity for participants to showcase their talents to the world with a view to getting even greater opportunities from philanthropists and organizations.

By: Victor Tew