Rivers No Longer Sacrificial Political Bride -Tam-George

The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, has said that the era of seeing Rivers State as a sacrificial political bride to service the Nigerian state to her own detriment is over.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the Golden Jubilee Anniversary Lecture held at the Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt, the commissioner branded such political philosophy as “hypocritical and a deceitful measure of using the treasures of Rivers State for the development of other states”.
He said Rivers State contributes over 52 per cent of the national revenue, but added that there had not been commensurate measure of development in the state, despite that level of sacrifice.
He, however, disclosed that the Chief Nyesom Wike-led administration has taken the bull by the horn by taking the destiny of the state into its hands, and has given a sense of direction and ownership to the state in terms of quality leadership.
The commissioner noted that such decisiveness on the part of government has librated the state from the shackles of institutional political slavery.
Tam-George, who faulted the character of the Nigerian Federal State, called for restructuring of the present centralized federal system to reflect the ideals of true federalism.
He said the theme of the Golden Jubilee Anniversary Lecture: “Democracy and Development in Nigeria, the case of Rivers State”, was apt, and aligned with the position of the guest speaker, Prof. Godini Darah, on resource ownership as the panacea for true federalism in Nigeria.
Tam-George, however, called for visionary leadership and prudent management of the resources for the benefit of the people to promote sustainable development in the Niger Delta and Nigeria in general.