Greater PH Plan: Okrika, Ogu-Bolo Demand Proper Dialogue

First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan (left) Speaking during the Abuja Carnival in Abuja, on Saturday. With her is the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke (right).

Chiefs and people of Okrika and Ogu-Bolo Local Government Areas of Rivers State, have advised the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority (GPCDA) on the need for proper dialogue with stakeholders and called for more time for better understanding of the plan.

To achieve that, the people urged the authority to slow down on the planned delineation of boundaries and marking of areas of jurisdiction of the authority until all issues likely to affect the successful implementation of the programme were resolved.

Speaking at the sensitisation meeting held separately at Okrika and Ogu at the weekend, the representatives of some of the communities commended the government for including them in the new city plan but urged the authority to expand the opportunity for proper dialogue with the communities in order to ensure that all the stakeholders were on the same page before the commencement of the exercise.

While the representatives of Okrika pleaded for more time for the chiefs to consult properly on the matter, the Ogu representatives demanded to know how the government intended to handle three key issues that remained sources of conflict between some of the communities and their neighbours.

The Company/Government Liaison Officer, Okrika Divisional Council of Chiefs, Chief Dere Biengbo Ofokome told the gathering that Okrika chiefs needed some time to consult and dialogue over the matter. This position was also re-echoed by the Chief and Head of Ambakwani War Canoe House of Ogbogbo who is also the Financial Secretary of Okrika Divisional Council of Chiefs, Chief Wokoma Goodenough Ambakwani.

Also speaking, Chief (Sir) A. S. Fibika Opu-Ado suggested that the authority gave Okrika chiefs a copy of the Greater Port Harcourt City master plan for proper study before further deliberation on the matter. “This meeting is impromptu, the chiefs actually needed sufficient time to study the programme and prepare for fruitful deliberation,” he stated.

Among issues listed by the representatives of Ogu/Bolo for critical consideration before the delineation exercise were the Supreme Court ruling of 1957 which established the Federal Ocean Terminal, Port Harcourt and gave possessing right to Ogu/Bolo LGA but is yet wrongly referred to as Onne Port, Ekporo in Eleme occupying Ogu/Bolo land and Kporo which is part of Ward 5 in Ogu/Bolo but ceded to Eleme LGA.

In his response, the Manager, Community Relations, GPCDA, Dr. Nath Abraham, assured that the Authority would neither displace nor destroy their historic identity in the course of the exercise. Instead, he said, the authority would integrate the people into the new city, plan their environment and control development activities for healthy living, adding that the Greater Port Harcourt (GPH) had a 50-year development plan which would certainly outlive the present administration in the state. He promised to communicate all the sentiments expressed in the meeting to appropriate quarters for further action.

Earlier in their welcome addresses, the Chairmen of Okrika and Ogu-Bolo local government areas, Hon. Tamuno Williams and Dame Maureen Tamuno thanked their people for their quick responses to the invitations and also for demonstrating high level of awareness during the meetings. They urged them to cooperate with the authorities in order to reap the full benefits of the development plan.