2014:People’s Expectations From Rivers State Govt

Traders ruminating over their loss after the fire incident at Olodi Apapa in Lagos last Friday Photo: NAN

In the spirit of yuletide and in accordance with
the norms of a New Year, expectations are rife. This includes how Rivers people feel about governance in its entirety in 2013 and their expectations in 2014.
To elicit how the people feel about governance in the state in 2013 and their expectations of the state government in 2014, our Assistant Women, Living/Style Editor, Mrs Sogbeba Dokubo, went to town. The revelations from the opinions of people regarding what they expect from the state government is as revealing as it is capable of setting agenda for the government.
Excerpts:

Mrs Grace Ebere, retired civil servant- There are so much expectations, but for me the area that concerns me is the fate of retired civil servants in the state and the teeming youths, who are the leaders of tomorrow and would one day become retired as I am.
Firstly, knowing how vulnerable the youths are in the present political dispensation, there is the expectation that the government should provide job opportunities for the teeming youths to prevent them from indulging in anti-social vices. This is one way of ensuring tomorrow’s development in the state.
Secondly, given promises and assurances made in 2013, there is the expectations that retired civil servants would not need to struggle or carry placard for them to get their due or what the government deemed fit for them. This means that their pension should be harmonised, and their salaries be beefed up so that it can be at par with the society demands at any given point in time.
Thirdly, given the state government’s investment in the power sector, and its promise, there is the expectations that all the nooks and crannies of the state would have regular and constant power supply in 2014.

Hon Boma Joseph politician – The Rivers State government under Rt Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has done so much in several areas. One area that is of interest to me is how he deals with judicial matters: for instance, the so-called controversial appointment of Justice Agumagu as the Acting Chief Judge of Rivers State.
Many people have faulted it but as a lay man in legal palance, I have taken pains to find out that Governor Amaechi has not gone contrary to what the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says regarding the appointment of an Acting Chief Judge. He has adhered strictly to the dictates of the constitution, but whether he has manipulated the constitution to suit his purpose is a discussion for another day. The important thing is that he has abided by what the constitution says.
In spite of this, however, my own expectations of the government in 2014 is for him to ensure that the judiciary is not compromised for selfish reason because that would amount to jeopardizing the future of our children. The judiciary should not be unnecessarily brought into the politics of the day.
The reason being that any selfish compromise today will set a bad precedence for tomorrow and nobody knows who will be the victim of such precedence, years to come. If, for instance, there is a judgment in the state against which ever party, what the other party should do is to appeal. The law is that if there is a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, it must be obeyed until it has been reversed, and  if it cannot be reversed, it is a valid judgment.
This means that it is not for anybody to say whether it was good or whether it was wrongly obtained or not. The only way forward is that any body that feels that his right is being infringed upon in anyway, by the judiciary compromising itself, or an individual rising the judiciary against another, is to go to court.
What I am saying in essence is that the expectation in 2014 is for the judiciary to be given free hand to perform its functions without prejudice.
Mr Stanley Wowo, Healthcare provider- There is no doubt that the Rivers State government under Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi has done well in some areas of governance, but one key area the government has not done well is in the welfare of civil servants.
The general understanding of the civil servants is that he has a special dislike for them, rightly or wrongly.
One of the areas of emphasis is the provision of low-cost houses which some of them have won. The last ones that were won just before he came in he cancelled what was put in place to enable them have access to acquire the houses, and since then nothing has been done about it.
Meanwhile, in changing the system, he made it compulsory for civil servants to pay for the houses within one month or lose ownership, compelling most of them to secure loans from banks on interest to enable them pay for the houses. Unfortunately, since 2007 nothing has been done about it. Some of the civil servants are homeless right now.
My expectation, therefore, is that the governor would take the plight of the civil servants in all spheres very seriously in 2014, knowing that he is an important stakeholder in a development minded society.
In the same vein, as much as more job opportunities are expected to be created in 2014, there is the expectation for government to take the welfare of civil servants more seriously than it has done in 2013.

Mr Michael Omiete, student- The year 2013 was a year of numerous crises which no doubt caused some form of distraction to governance in Rivers State. The State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis, the Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) crisis and the internal Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) ASUU crisis, all contributed in no small way in governance in the state in 2013. All of these crises are no doubt avoidable if the well-being of Rivers people were truly upper most in the minds of those at the helm of affairs in the state.
The expectation in 2014 therefore, is that everything possible should be done to ensure that the interests of Rivers people are fully protected, knowing that civilisation has come along with it such knowledge that when excuses are made by government to cover up its inadequacies, it does not matter if it is spoken the truth of whose interest is being protected will be crystal clear to close watchers of governance. Government therefore has to truly consider the people it represents in all its actions in 2014.

Mr Lucas Brace, Business man- The Rivers State government has indeed done a lot on paper in such areas as education and health, in terms of infrastructural development. But when it comes to functionality of these infrastructure and the manpower and equipment needed to enhance functionality, the government has not faired well. The reason mostly is that it has embarked on too many projects at the same time, resulting in difficulty in fully executing each of the numerous projects anticipated level of accomplishment. This has resulted in the number of uncompleted roads, schools and hospitals not put in proper use.
My expectation of the state government in 2014, therefore, is that he should be more bordered about successfully executing useful projects, rather than embarking on many projects that would now look meaningless to the common man.
The government should know that Nigeria as a whole has non-continuity of projects by subsequent government, hence any project not completed by the government is as good as being a waste at the expiration of the originating government.