As preparations for the 2019 general elections gather momentum, amidst alignment and re-alignment of political forces, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State believes that in the race for the Brick House, nothing can change the status quo.
In this exclusive interview with the Acting Political Editor, Soibi Max-Alalibo, the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Hon. Solomon Abel Eke reveals why Rivers State is a no-go-area for the opposition, and many more.
How does it feel like being the Chairman?
For me, it’s a call to service. Ascending to this high position of Executive Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA is guided by my sense of responsibility to the people of Obio/akpor LGA. So, I see it as a call to serve. And with humility and due respect, I owe everything to God, and the good people of Obio/Akpor LGA. We need to make our place better; we do not have another LGA. God brought us here, and I know it’s for a reason.
What would you say are your targets as Chairman?
I have always said that this is a government of continuum. It started from where Nyesom Wike started from 1999 to 2006. Then, from Timothy Nsirim, under whom I served as Vice Chairman, up to 2014. As a former VC of the Council, I know where we stopped; I also know some of the things we had in mind to do. These are the things I’m tackling head-on. For instance, since we broke out of Port Harcourt City Local Government, Obio/Akpor does not have a library. Currently, we have a suitable land for it. So, I’ve made necessary arrangement to embark on it. It will be among projects to be commissioned in my first 100 days in office. We also do not have a sports centre. So we’ve decided to build a sports centre for the people of the LGA. We do not have a cemetery. This will also be provided. And, considering that Obio/Akpor is still developing, with people migrating to the LGA almost daily, we also need to make provision for absorbing the influx of people to avoid unnecessary congestion of our roads, and in order to create sanity on our roads, we’re building more parks for cars. If you live in Obio/Akpor you’ll know that road congestion has been a key issue. We’ve already created some parks, but we shall still come up with more modern enclosed parks like we see in advanced countries, to be commissioned within our 100 days in office. Within the first 100 days too, we are going to institute a green culture: we’ll plant flowers and trees at strategic places in the LGA, such as roundabouts and parks to beautify them. This will be done through the Parks and Garden Committee. We also have in our agenda, a deliberate and planned step to sanitise, secure and develop Obio/Akpor.
In sanitising Obio/Akpor, we want to make sure that cleanliness is maintained. To ensure this, we have commenced fencing some of the key markets on major roads, such as the Oil Mill market. We’ll also do same for the market at Rumuokoro Roundabout, and any other place such markets are found. This is to ensure that those who sell are cordoned off the major roads on which they have hitherto caused nuisance.
We will also provide a health insurance scheme for everybody in Obio/Akpor. They include indigenes, those who live in and do business in the LGA. With just a token of N4,000.00 (for men) and N5,000.00 (for women within reproductive age) for registration in the scheme, bills from people’s health challenges will be catered for by the LGA.
The amount for registration for women within reproductive age is higher because some of them may require caesarean section that would require more money. But it will be done with no additional cost to the patient. The LGC will foot the bill.
Again, we have commenced the training of our youth in various skills to either make them employable, or turn them to entrepreneurs knowing that Obio/Akpor is a viable LGA that is developing at a fast pace. For this purpose, we are training our youth in such skills as pipeline welding, soap making, hair dressing, etc. As the popular saying goes, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”, we do not want our youths to be idle, so they cannot easily be tempted to go into social vices.
Any challenges so far?
There’re indeed challenges. But such challenges are not insurmountable. Most of the challenges we face now are the result of people being used to doing things in a given way, and so find it difficult to change to a better way. For instance, markets are provided for traders to sell their wares in them. But these traders prefer to sell on the roads, thereby constituting nuisance. So, when we now tell them to go into the market to sell, they go to the streets to protest. We have decided to take steps to talk to them in order to convince them that beyond the need for them to sell in the markets, they also endanger their lives by selling on major roads. As we do the talking, we are also taking precautionary measures to gradually send them to the market.
What would you say are the chances of PDP in Rivers State in the 2019 governorship election?
The truth is that in Rivers State, there is no rivalry to the fact that PDP is a household name. Governor (Nyesom) Wike has done so much that virtually all parts of the State have something to thank the government for. His projects are far reaching. Beyond this, he has a listening ear. It is for the same reason he has ensured that the third tier of governance, which is the Local Government, is resuscitated to enhance governance by bringing it down to the people. Rivers People are very comfortable with the PDP-led Government, so there’s no way they can give room for APC, which has already failed Nigeria at the centre People are wiser now, they can compare the hardship caused by the APC-led Nigerian Government, and so nobody can come and deceive Rivers People to the point of not voting for PDP in 2019 in Rivers State.
In his first three years in office, Wike commissioned projects every day for over a month. There is no Government in Nigeria that achieved such feat, at least not in this present dispensation. And, the good thing about these projects is that one way or another, they touch the lives of the people positively. So, having done this much within three years, it is obvious that Rivers people will support the Governor to do more in delivering more dividends of democracy to them.
What is your advice to the people of Obio/Akpor, Your co-chairmen in the State, and Rivers people?
My advice for the people of Obio/Akpor, who voted me into power, is for them to have faith in me. I can only urge them to follow my leadership path for which they voted for me, promising them that I will not lead them astray. I am making sure that I carry on with the development pattern set from the tenure of the Governor when he was Chairman.
To my Co-Chairmen, I urge them to toe the line of the Governor in developing their LGAs by executing projects that will touch the lives of their people directly, because it is the only way to live up to the expectation of the people and our “Mr. Project”.
To Rivers people, I can only say that everybody needs a good life, and the Governor is creating the enabling environment, so, let’s support him. Let us not be deceived by these “money bags”. Since three years they have been in power at the national level, they’ve not brought any development to Rivers State. But the PDP Government in Rivers State has been doing a lot because they are answerable to our people: communities that do not have roads, they cry out to the Governor and he provides for them in good time. He promises and fulfills his promises. There are so many things. The essential thing is that anything identified as the problem of the people and brought to his knowledge, he takes care of it. He has a listening ear, and this is what we demand of our leaders. Let us therefore come out fully to support him and resist any attempt to compromise this position because at the end of the day, if you sell yourself for peanuts, you’ll suffer for it.
 

Soibi Max-Alalibo