Greater Port Harcourt: The Vision, The Caution

Odinaka Osundu

The Greater Port Harcourt city project of the present administration is a commendable vision  which successive administrations deliberately ignored. The present government had realised that the influx of people into Port Harcourt is a policy outcome of previous administrations which accorded the state the “One- City status.” Rapid urbanisation problem of Port Harcourt as reflected in the population growth therefore give credence to the project. The government earnestly believes that the best way to go about this is by a decentralized development approach which will provide for spread of development to selected local governments away “from Port Harcourt in terms of social infrastructures that will make life inviting, welcoming and accommodating to the people.

With this at the back of their mind, the Government intends to put a better plan and infrastructure in developing about 30,000 housing units in the first phase in eight local governments of Ikwerre,Emuoha,Port Harcourt  Obio/Akpor, Oyigbo, Okrika,Ogu/Bolo and Eleme of the state. The Governor, Rt.Hon. Rotimi Amaechi knowing what long and short term gains the people will derive if the project is well executed has established the Greater Port Harcourt Development Authority through a Rivers State House of Assembly legislation under a seasoned and tested administrator Dame Aleruchi Cookeygam as Sole Administrator for effects.

A pip into some of the responsibilities of the authority reveals that aside completing the 30,000 housing units in its first phase, it will afford the people an opportunity to own property, as well as help ensure that these houses are built to specifications and also encourage public private partnership. Greater Port Harcourt Development Authority is also saddled with monitoring the cost of the houses if built through private public partnership so that their prices will be affordable among others.

Society watchers see this project as the solution our state has been in dare need concerning what Port Harcourt and Rivers State have turned into in terms of urban malaise, planning, compliance and enforcement required to bring sanity to urban environment.

Through this project at least half of today’s population of Port Harcourt will move to these housing units, while it will afford many the opportunity of a life time of owning their personal houses .Definitely, the eight local governments will not remain the same again developmentally as openings of the presence of government will be felt. These local governments will feel the presence of industries and companies which will give employment opportunities to many of their sons and daughters like in the case of Risonpalm in Ubima in Ikwerre among others .The overall believe is that this well thought project of government will stimulate a lot of changes that will be fruitful to society.

The Greater Port Harcourt city project will also bring to national and international lime light these local governments while the one-city status of Rivers State will be a thing of the past. People of the state will benefit from modern infrastructures denied by past administrations which makes dividends of  democracy real.

Opinion leaders in Rivers also believe that with the perdegree of the Sole Administrator, Dame Cookeygam in public and private offices she is definitely a round peg in a round hole to actualise the administration’s efforts regarding this welcomed and overdue life changing project of our times .It is therefore necessary to state here that all lovers of better life for our generation and those unborn must endearvour to support this laudable project of the present administration in order to make us move forward.

It is also important to caution Cookeygam and her team against any form of compromise on standards and specifications. Strict adherence to the new master plan is the only way to realise the over all objective of the government.

They should learn from the experiences of the federal government in the implementation of the Abuja master plan. Successive administrations of the FCT were careless to the point that development of the city became haphazard leading to the massive demolishion of structures during the time of el-Rufai.

Osundu resides in Port Harcourt.