RSG Orders Elele Tanker Fire Probe

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has said the police command in the state would have to investigate the cause of the tanker fire disaster at the Elele roundabout in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.

Governor Amaechi spoke while reacting to the tanker fire disaster after going round the scene of the incident last Wednesday.

He said, “like I said, what will you say? The problem is when you build roads people begin to speed and over speed… the story we hear is that a police vehicle was chasing the tanker driver but we will wait for the outcome of the investigation. The police should investigate the cause of this fire. We hear a life was lost and property have been damaged. We need to hear from the police and know what happened before the government can decide on what to do”.

“I have directed the chairman of Ikwerre Local Government to call back the fire service because some of the fuel crept into the drainage system and they have to see how to pull that out so that we don’t have more fire.”

Amaechi also expressed concern over the implementation of traffic regulations by law enforcement officers to ensure that drivers obey traffic rules and avoid over speeding

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has said that Nigeria would develop more speedily when states across the country are allowed to develop at their own pace and capacity in a truly federal system of government.

He said items on the country’s exclusive list have clearly placed restrictions on states which negatively impact development in the states.

Governor Amaechi spoke at the 2013 Physicians’ Week of the Rivers State Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) at the NMA Secretariat along East-West Road in Port Harcourt  last Wednesday. The theme for this year’s Physicians’ Week is “Federalism and Nigeria’s Healthcare System, an Appraisal of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare System”.

“Part of the problem of Nigeria today is beyond corruption and is the totalitarianism where one man is in Abuja and completely decides whether you will feed or not and we are saying no, it’s wrong. A substantial part of the problem in Rivers state today is the fact that the police commissioner is being manipulated from Abuja”, Amaechi said.

“But in a true federalism, a state is supposed to have its own police. When I went to Kenya, I saw county police in Kenya. Africa has left us behind. Before we used to lead Africa, we were referred to as giant of Africa. Nigeria is not a giant and can never be a giant until we have good leadership,” he noted.

Governor Amaechi urged medical practitioners employed by the state to be committed to their professional calling and offer best healthcare delivery to all Rivers people, saying that doctors had no business going on strike since the state government pays their salaries and provides them with other benefits. He reassured that his administration will do more to improve healthcare delivery in the state.

“Please, be committed. If you want to be a good doctor, you have to show commitment, sympathy or empathy. We are saying you have a contract with us, we have fulfilled our own part of the bargain, if you refuse to fulfil your own, are you being fair? Rivers State government doctors should please go to work because the number of patients that will die because you are not at work”, may be high”, he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the State chapter of the NMA, Dr. Ibitrokoemi Korubo said the week-long event was for doctors in the state to reflect on what it meant to be a doctor and look at the health indices for the previous year with the intent of improving those indices for the future.

He described the primary healthcare programme in Rivers State as the best in the country, and commended Governor Amaechi for improving healthcare delivery in the state.

In his opening remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Dr. Baundele Agborubere noted that while there had been some transformation in Nigeria’s medical development, much still needed to be done.

He lauded Governor Amaechi for providing health facilities at the primary level across the state.