Quit Shanties, RSG Orders Residents …As N1.5bn Jetty Project Begins

The Rivers State Government has issued a two-week ultimatum to people living in shanties along the Bonny, Bile and Nembe waterfronts to vacate the areas.
The state Commissioner for Transport, Akie Fubara, issued the ultimatum during an interview with newsmen shortly after a stakeholders’ meeting at the state Ministry of Transport, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The Tide recalls that this latest directive comes on the heels of the award of N1.5billion contract by the Governor Nyesom Wike-led government for the rehabilitation of the Bonny, Bile and Nembe jetties in the Old Port Harcourt Township.
According to Fubara, the ultimatum is to enable the company handling the contract for the rehabilitation of the affected jetties to commence work immediately.
The commissioner assured the people that the construction of the jetties will not affect social-economic activities but will rather help boost employment creation and increase revenue generation in the areas as a veritable means of contributing to enhancing the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR).
Fubara further said that living in shanties undermines the quality of lives of the people, and increases the chances of contacting diseases and infections, thereby stretching the healthcare facilities in the state.
He said that the deplorable environmental conditions were challenging for government to tolerate, and advised those living in the affected areas to respect their precious lives, and relocate for the good of their present and future generations.