Why RSG Re-Awarded Kalabari Road Project –Amaechi

Rivers State Government says it would soon re-award contract for the construction of the Trans-Kalabari highway because the road when completed would assist in the development of the local economy of Kalabari communities. 
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi gave this indication  while speaking at a reception marking the 80th birthday celebration of King (Prof.)Theophilus Princewill, Amanyanabo of Kalabari kingdom and Chairman, Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, at King Amachree Square, Buguma, over the weekend.
Governor Amaechi  regretted that the road project was abandoned by contractors, 80 per cent of whom were indigenes of Kalabari land, and wondered why contractors from the Kalabari axis should collect money for projects meant to improve the living standard of their people and abandon the work.
He blamed former Kalabari leaders who positions of responsibilities in the state and the federal governments not doing much to develop their communities, and assured of the preparedness of his administration to work with Kalabari leaders to bring the needed development to the area.
The State Chief Executive debunked insinuations in some quarters that other ethnic groups in Rivers State hated Kalabari people, pointing out that “it appears there was a mistake somewhere by the Kalabaris and advised them to unite to correct the perception.
Governor Amaechi urged the Kalabaris to caution their youngmen to surrender their arms, emphasising that they should not hide under the guise of Niger Delta struggle to kill innocent citizens, majority whom are Kalabaris.
According to him, “we should not in the guise of Niger Delta struggle kill our people, all of us must agree that our children must return their guns, if they want to develop the area, Kalabari people should caution their children”.
He cited a situation where a government contractor building one of the new model primary schools in the area had been harassed constantly with threats, monetary demands, and finally chased away from site by these youths, and queried why they should stop a development project meant for their benefit.
The governor noted that the Kalabari people were gradually losing their respect which they commanded in the past in all spheres of human endeavour in the state, as their youths were now engaged in bunkering activities rather than in legitimate means of livelihood.
He remarked that the state government was still looking for more lands in the area to embark on the building of 10 model primary schools and five health centres in each local government in the area, and appealed to the people to support the present administration’s drive to improve the lives of the people.
Earlier, Chairman of the occasion, Alabo T. O. Graham-Douglas had given a brief historical antecedent of the Kalabari kingdom, noting that despite series of migrations by family groupings caused by warfare for control of sea routes and trade, the Kalabaris still maintained a solid homogenous front as a kingdom.
Alabo Graham-Douglas, who had been a Minister in Nigeria at four different times in the past, told King Theophilus Princewill that the biggest legacy he could bequeath his people as their Amanyanabo was to focus on the age long unity of the Kalabari kingdom and congratulated him on the 80th birthday celebration.
In his address of welcome, the celebrant, King Theophilus Princewill, remarked that his eightieth birthday, though remarkable, was being celebrated but not without dots of tortuous moments, and expressed gratitude to the governor and all those who graced the occasion.
Highlights of the occasion which attracted the ECOWAS President, Dr. Ibn Chambers, the Ghanaian Ambassador to Nigeria, the wife of the State Governor, Dame Judith Amaechi, top politicians and traditional rulers among dignitaries from various walks of life, include the unveiling of the statue of King Amachree VII, and presentation of a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Jeep, as birthday gift  to the Amanyanabo by the the governor.