The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has announced that his administration would build a world-class treatment centre to cater to cancer and cardiovascular diseases in the state.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Rumuogba flyover in Port Harcourt, yesterday, Wike said the contract for that project would be signed in the next two weeks.
Wike said the deputy governor and other members of the team know that even if they were in their second tenure, they cannot rest on their oars in providing service and projects to Rivers people.
“For me, Rivers State deserves the best. I’ve told the deputy governor and our team, yes, this is our second tenure but we are going to work as if it is our first tenure. That is what we are doing.
“We are not interested in going to Abuja everyday to stay. We are interested in staying in our state and developing it with the resources that God has given to us.
“Let me tell the people of the Rivers State, today, in the next two weeks, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC will come back and sign a contract with Rivers State Government, a project where we are going to build a cancer and cardiovascular disease centre. It shall be the best in this country, and shall be completed in 14 months.”
Wike said the inauguration of the Rumuogba flyover had left so many people speechless because they least expected that such feat would be accomplished.
He stated that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) does not have room for excuses because leaders in the party always fulfil any promise they make to the people to improve the socio-economic status of Rivers State and its people.
According to Wike, Rivers people should expect inauguration of five more flyovers in the next 12months, that will include the Rumuola, Ogbunuabali, GRA-Aba Road-Rumukalagbor and Ikwerre Road-Olu-Obasanjo flyovers.
“This is one of the three flyovers that we signed with Julius Berger Nigeria PLC sometime in 2019. The others are the Okoro-Nu-Odo flyover and the Rebisi flyover. We gave them delivered within 16 months.
“So many people thought we will not accomplish it. They thought it will be one of those white elephant projects that will be abandoned by our administration.
“But to the glory of God, giving us the resources, giving us the strength, and giving us the wisdom, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC completed these three flyovers in 14 months.
“Already, there are three other flyovers that are on-going: the Rumuola flyover, the GRA flyover, and the Ogbunuabali flyover.
“We have just signed the flyovers 7 and 8, and we are going to pay Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 70 per cent upfront. We don’t want to hear that the project cannot be completed. So, in the next one year, we are going to commission another five flyovers to the glory of God.”
The governor took a swipe at critics who, for want of what to say, are faulting engineering design of the Okoro-Nu-Odo flyover because they were baffled on how God has helped his administration not only to pay salary but to execute quality projects.
“I’m proud to say it, that we have shocked so many people. They don’t know what to say again. I read this morning where one of them, incidentally, I hear he is from Ubima, said, ‘they have seen the Okoro-Nu-Odo flyover but it is poorly designed’.
“This is somebody who will not do it but abandon it. Now, we have finished it, and they say, ‘it’s poorly designed’. I’m sure, tomorrow too, when they see this Rumuogba flyover, they will find one fault to talk about it.
“In 2015, on 27th of May, the former governor had his birthday at Obi Wali Cultural Centre. There, he told them that there’s no way we will get money to pay salary, not talk of doing projects.”