Focus
2023 Polls: ‘Media Faced Myriad Of Challenges In Performance Of Their Roles’
Being the presentation of Dr. Chima Matthew Amadi at the 19th all Nigeria Editors Conference (Anec) On November 16, 2023 at the Ibom Icon Hotels And Golf Resort, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Titled: “Post-2023 General Elections: Assessing the roles played by the media, Inec, Security agencies and others”.
Protocols
I am grateful to the leader
ship of ANEC, organisers of this conference, for inviting me to give this presentation at this very important event being held at this very important time in our national history. Conferences like this are important because they help shape the national conversation and help Nigerians distill fact from fiction, take stock of situations and map a route towards the country that we all dream of.
In inviting me to give this presentation, ANEC gave me the arduous yet important task of assessing the roles played by the key stakeholders of our electoral process in the conduct of the 2023 general elections. The task is arduous due to the complexities surrounding the involvement of multiple stakeholders in varying degrees, who all have to perform their roles optimally for the successful conduct of elections. It is also arduous because one has to navigate the emotive state of large sections of the Nigerian populace, at home and abroad, who may not have a full understanding of the circumstances surrounding the elections and yet, respond passionately about it.
Yet, it is important to assess the roles played by key stakeholders in order to appraise the assess the success of the elections. We need to know who did what, when, where and how. We need to know which officials or agencies performed their tasks optimally and which did not. Only by doing so, will we be able to ascertain the areas of improvement, the areas where there are gaps that need to be filled and areas that need to be strengthened.
The stakeholders involved in the electoral eco-system can be broadly categorized into 6 groups. They are:
The Media
The electoral umpire, INEC
Security agencies
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Observer Groups
Politicians
The Judiciary
Like the fingers of one hand, these groups all need perform their roles effectively to ensure successful elections. But also, like a hand the slight lack of capacity in one finger does not prevent the functions of the hand.
As this is a gathering of senior members of the media, I will begin my assessment with the roles played by your profession. The media has always had to bear the burden of maintaining a balance during election season. This task involves maintaining a balance between:
passing information and curbing the spread of fake news;
saying things as they are while not inflaming tensions and igniting fires;
promoting free speech while dissuading hate speech, and
preserving our rich cultural heritage while dissuading ethnic, religious and tribal sentiments.
The media’s role has always been particularly important to maintain a peaceful, just and egalitarian society. It is also particularly precarious because the major political players use the media as a tool to advance their own interests.
The constant attempts by government to “regulate” (read suppress opposition voices), the rise of fake news and the decentralization of information dissemination by the rise of social media makes the role of the media all the more important, and all the more precarious.
The media faced myriad of challenges in the performance of their roles in the 2023 general elections. Notable among these was the deployment of fake news which was done blatantly and effectively by major political players or on their behalf. It was so widely done that observer agencies had to note the desperation political players had to spread damaging, but fake news, against opponents.
In many instances, the media did not live up to its fact checking responsibilities. In other instances, it did so too late. In yet other instances, it did not matter because political players persisted and the people went ahead to believe what they wanted to.
A third challenge the media faced was the deployment of incendiary and inflammatory rhetoric. Given that this was the first election since 1999 where a major political party fielded a Muslim-Muslim ticket, the nation was already charged along religious lines. This was a topic that ought to have been handled with the greater care and responsibility than it was. In the end, it pushed to the country to the brink, from which the country has not really recovered.
Closely allied to this was the conversation around the ethnicity and zoning. Like the conversation around religion, this was a charged topic. And like the conversation around religion, the conversation around ethnicity and zoning was perhaps not handled with the care and sensitivity with which it should have been.
One can reasonably surmise that the media could have, and should have, done better in assessing the twin issues of religion and ethnicity and their roles in our society, as well as leading the national conversation about the importance of religious consideration vis a vis the need for national cohesion and tangible development.
In my assessment, the media did not do enough to point out the critical security challenges the electoral umpire faced before, during and after the elections. For instance, over a 4-year period between 2019 and 2023 there were 50 attacks on INEC facilities in the country. A breakdown shows that in 2019, INEC recorded eight attacks; 22 in 2020, 12 in 2021, and eight in 2022. The incidents occurred in Osun, Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Bayelsa, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Borno, and Taraba states. One is of the opinion that not enough media spotlight was given to these attacks which were obviously done to weaken the capacity of the electoral umpire to conduct free and fair elections.
Finally, the media did not always perform its role of leading the conversation on critical issues. In some instance, the media caught onto those issues late and in others, not at all. The end result was that the public often got its information and had its narrative shaped by opinions on social media by political players, most of whom had agendas.
It is important to the consideration of the above identified issues to probe whether the ownership structures of the media house and the political inclinations of their owners impede the objectivity and performance of the media. In many cases, the correlation between owners and the political leanings on the one hand and the reportage and slant on critical issues on the other is very apparent for all to see, especially in cases where the owners are prominent members of political parties or are aligned with one political divide or the other.
One must also consider that many media houses simply shy away from firm, objective and consistent reportage of critical issues simply for the fear of losing advertising patronage, particularly from government. As a result, critical issues and events are barely discussed and, where reported, are barely footnotes hidden at the bottom of pages in obscure segments of print and audiovisual programming.
I will not deign to tell professionals such as yourselves how to carry out their jobs. I will, however, sound a note of caution. Social media presents a valid threat to the existence of conventional media and will weaken its effectiveness and reduce its relevance if the media does not retake the lead on reportage, lead conversation relevant to the Nigerian people and provide unbiased and objective analysis of the issues as they occur.
The Nigerian media needs to find the fine balance between the instinctive need to survive and pay the bills vis a vis the duty to give fair, unbiased and objective reportage on issues are critical to the Nigerian people. You have to evolve or you will slowly watch the media industry as you know it die.
Seeing as INEC is the constitutionally authorized body to prepare for, conduct elections and announce results I will assess their performance second. In this wise, it is important to point out that elections are a process not an event. It is a process that commences with the announcement of the Notice of Elections, goes through Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), collection of Permanent Voter Cards, sundry logistic arrangements, political party primaries and the selection of candidates, campaigns, campaign finance, voter accreditation, voting, collation of results and announcement of results.
Any credible assessment of elections in Nigeria has to appraise the entire process from start to finish, and not pick at parts of the process in isolation. In this wise, it is worthy to note that the 2023 elections had the following important highpoints:
Despite certain challenges, CVR and PVC collection went rather well resulting in the highest number of eligible voters in our national history at over 94m.
This is the first election in the last 12 years that was not postponed.
There was a very visible improvement in the logistic of deployment of election materials across the country as a result of which accreditation and voting started on time across the country.
In times past, the announcement of results no matter how invalid could only be overturned by the Courts. However, the Commission was able to exercise its power of review to prevent constitutional crises in a number of states, most notably in Adamawa State.
There are many other examples. However, most of the post-election assessment of the elections has unfairly been narrowed down to the deployment of the Bimodal Verification and Accreditation System (BVAS) and the Instant Result Viewing portal, IReV.
BVAS was designed to perform the dual role of curbing incidents of impersonation by ensuring that only a properly accredited voter could cast his or her ballot and transmitting the results from the polling unit directly to the IReV portal.
Several local and foreign observers have put its performance at 98% success rate in ensuring successful accreditation of voters. This level of success is phenomenal and is evidence that a lot of work has been done to curb incidents of multiple voting and overvoting.
However, the BVAS machines suffered a set-back when they encountered a glitch in the system which caused a collapse of the IReV portal making it impossible for the results to be transmitted in real time. This led to INEC suspending the electronic transmission of results and relying on manual transmission, as also allowed by law, while work was being done to fix the system.
The Commission receiving severe criticism over the occurrence of this glitch, perhaps rightly so. But having suffered a technical glitch in the middle of election day, INEC did the best it could, in compliance with the provisions of the law, and ensured that the manual transmission of the results was done, and copies of Forms EC8 appropriately handed over to the political party agents as well as pasted on a wall at the polling unit.
I will not bother to go into the fine print of the legalese stipulated by our court systems. But I want to draw your attention to certain numbers:
2015
PARTY NO OF VOTES
APC 15, 424,921
PDP 12, 853,162
Difference 2, 571,759
2019
PARTY NO OF VOTES
APC 15,191,847
PDP 11,262,978
Difference 3, 928,869
2023
PARTY NO OF VOTES
APC 8, 794,726
PDP + LP + NNPP 14, 582,740
Difference 5, 788,014
NOTES
APC basically maintained the number of votes they garnered in the 2015 and 2019 elections, losing only 233, 074.
PDP lost 1, 590,184 votes between 2015 and 2019. This reduction in votes can be attributed to a variety of reasons.
Amadi is a human rights activist based in Abuja.
By the 2023 elections, the opposition support base had been balkanized into 3 parties – PDP, Labour Party (LP) and New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
– Between 2019 and 2023, APC lost a staggering 6, 397,121 votes, a situation reflective of the public disapproval of President Buhari’s management of the country.
– Between 2019 and 2023, the opposition gained 3, 319,762 votes, a situation reflective of the public desire for a change of the ruling party.
– The results indicate that the ruling party actually lost the election. The opposition actually won the election. The ruling party cannot lose a rigged election by more than 6million votes.
– The only reason why there has not been a change of the ruling party is because votes given to the opposition were distributed to 3 parties rather than a single party.
Given these numbers and these facts, it is next to impossible to conclude that the elections were rigged.
One must admit that the Commission faced a number of other challenges in the conduct of the election, most of which were not of its own making. If one considers that the elections were held in the middle of a debilitating cash crunch as well as a fuel scarcity, one will reach a conclusion that the Commission deserves commendation for getting its logistics around the distribution of sensitive electoral materials right.
Of course, one cannot complete an assessment of INEC’s role in the 2023 elections without commenting on the poor conduct of INEC permanent and ad-hoc staff in isolated incidents across the country. We had instances of senior officials going rogue like in Adamawa State, where the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), declared a candidate winner without due process of any sort of legal authority to do so.
We also had instances where ad-hoc staff, retained to ensure the smooth conduct of the elections, received monetary inducements to sabotage the same processes. We all know that many Nigerians see the elections as an opportunity to cash out and indeed create pockets of challenges in the process.
However, one must commend the Commission’s determination to follow the process of the law an ensure the prosecution of all officials caught sabotaging the electoral process. The announcement that the Commission intends to prosecute as many as 215 people for various electoral offences is commendable. If you recall, in the aftermath of the 2019 elections, the Commission prosecuted as many as 300 people for various electoral offences and secured over 200 convictions. What this means is that it is establishing a pattern for the arrest, prosecution and conviction of electoral offenders – something that was never done before.
The occurrence of internal sabotage of the electoral process was to be expected. In the months before the 2023 elections, several Resident Election Commissioners (RECs) were appointed and sworn into office. These appointments were made in apparent violation of the provisions of the law and in spite of protestations by many stakeholders over their partisan pasts. These included at least a former governorship candidate of a political party; the younger sister of the South East National Vice President of a political party; a former civil servant dismissed from service in a state on account of corruption, and the manager of a hotel belonging to a politician who served as minister at the time of the appointment.
A cursory study of the electoral trends will show that many illegal activities occurred and attempts at disrupting the system occurred in the states where these people were posted to serve.
I do not believe there was sufficient public pressure to resist these appointments and attempts at sabotaging the electoral process from within. I also do not believe that enough was done to bring this issue to the limelight.
On a connected note, one must point out that there has been a slow but remarkable departure in the “activist” outlook displayed by the Commission since 2015. This departure is not unconnected with the reduced appointment of people from the civic space and committed advocates for a return to democracy to members and acolytes of political parties who have a clear and present incentive to be biased. I am rather disappointed that this is happening, given that this activist approach has led to an improvement in the legal and regulatory framework around elections and the deployment of technology designed to improve the credibility of elections.
We have seen several instances in the past where the electoral umpire has insisted on preserving its credibility as an unbiased umpire by disowning results whose integrity it could not vouch for. Unfortunately, it has not done so often enough and seems increasingly reluctant to do so. I will give an example by citing the Kogi State gubernatorial election of 2019 and asserting that the electoral umpire had no business given the wide scale violence that destroyed the credibility of the results, a fact attested to by INEC staff, CSOs and observer groups that participated in the elections. There are so many cases where the Commission departed from recent history and failed, refused and neglected to intervene in blatant cases of electoral malpractice.
This is a stance that the Commission must depart from. Otherwise, it will give vent to increasing levels of desperation within the political class, who are already desperate enough as it is.
My final comment on the Commission is note its failure to replicate its commitment to open and transparent information dissemination as it did in 2019. In the build up to the 2019 elections, the Commission deployed all its available resources – including its chairman – on all available media platforms to keep Nigerians informed of the state of the election, especially when a postponement was announced. On the contrary, in 2023 the Commission failed to keep Nigerians sufficiently informed of events as they occurred, particularly when the IReV portal experienced a glitch leading to it malfunctioning. This failure ultimately led to a vacuum which was ultimately filled with a potent mixture of facts and conjecture that have almost undermined the credibility of the process.
8. Having spoken about the Commission, one must analyze the role played by the security agencies in the conduct of the elections. After all, without a peaceful, safe and secure environment, elections cannot be held nor results declared.
Commendably, the 2023 elections were held in a largely peaceful atmosphere across the country. In most places, people were able to arrive their polling units, cast their ballots, wait for the announcement of results and go home without any incidents or breach of the peace. One must point out that the coordinated deployment of security agents led to a drop in the casualty figures from the two previous election cycles.
However, there were a number of flashpoints in certain states that nearly led to a breakdown of law and order. Notable amongst these states are Benue, Cross Rivers, Delta, Imo, Kano, Kogi, Lagos and Rivers.
There must be some criticism for the security agencies regarding these incidents of violence. In many cases, the security agents deployed to provide security for the peaceful conduct of the elections actually provided operational cover to enable the perpetration of these acts of violence by thugs sponsored by political players. In other cases, they stood by unwilling and unable to do anything to stop the violence. And in other cases, they responded late to calls for help or did not respond at all.
It must be said that 161 reported casualties, as well as the maiming of several others and kidnappings of several others, is bad enough – no matter that there was a reduction in the occurrence of such events from previous years.
The security agencies have to do more to discipline officers who collaborate to subvert the electoral process, improve response times and train officers in de-escalation techniques while ensuring the integrity of the electoral process.
The security agencies also have to do more pro-active policing aimed at gathering intelligence and preventing these attacks before they occur. It is no longer enough to react long after the attacks have been carried out, nor has it ever been enough.
To achieve this, the security agencies have to overcome the problem of under-policing and over-policing during elections. While I am aware that it seems incongruous to this, a careful study of elections will reveal that this is an actual problem that occurs when large numbers of security agents are deployed in urban centres or specific locations to the detriment of rural areas or other locations. The result is what while elections remain peaceful in certain areas due to the concentration of security agents there, it leaves other areas susceptible to the nefarious activities of political thugs.
Hopefully, we will get to a point in the not-too-distant future where there are no casualties or breaches of the peace during the conduct of our elections.
But it almost feels like this is a vain hope given that the security agencies are mostly deployed with partisan considerations in the first place. It happens all too often that security personnel are deployed to parts of the country and allowed to operate with obvious partisan agenda. How then will elections be peaceful when the security agencies who have the duty to maintain the peace descend into the arena on behalf of one side?
And the true conundrum about this descent into the arena is that it varies according to local considerations in the various. As such, a security agency that may be pliable and favourable to a political interest in an area may be aggressive against it in another area.
Nigeria desperately needs a return to a situation where the security agencies are loyal to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our constitution rather than this situation of being loyal to different fiefdoms and interests.
9. Civil Society Groups (CSOs) and Observer Groups
The role of CSOs and Observer groups in the 2023 electoral cycle cannot be over-emphasized. The deployment of many of the legal, regulatory and technological innovations for the 2023 elections were only possible because of the relentless pressure applied by CSOs to ensure the passage of the Electoral Act 2022. I must speak to the memory of my late friend and brother, Comrade Ariyo “Aristotle” Atoye, who drove the process and rallied critical stakeholders to pressure the National Assembly. Unfortunately, he passed away in October 2022 and did not live to see the benefits of his hard work in operation. May his soul continue to rest in peace.
Many CSOs also played very commendable roles in voter education and sensitization. They spearheaded so many initiatives designed to discourage flaws like vote buying, electoral violence and to encourage high voter turnout and peaceful conduct during the elections.
It is important to observe that the participation of CSOs was not all positive. There are several instances where CSO were established or retained with the intention of pushing negative and divisive rhetoric along regional, ethnic or religious lines or to promote fake news or to attack political opponents. In so doing, their activities served to heighten tensions and worsen the climate in which the elections were held.
This presents us with the need for an urgent national conversation around the role of CSOs in our democratic process. It has become increasingly important to find the balance between the rights to freedom of speech and the rights to freedom of association vis a vis the need for some sort of regulation that prevents organizations from exacerbating tensions during electoral season.
There were several commendable things about the participation of observer groups in this electoral cycle. Most notable amongst these was they served to point out the loopholes/gaps in the electoral process and make recommendations to plug such gaps in the future.
However, many observer groups did not observe the entire electoral process and so only gave their recommendations about election day activities. As such many of the recommendations do not give any insights about how to improve pre-election day aspects of the process.
It must be said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a CSO and observer group that gives a fair, balanced and objective assessment of the electoral process. And this is traceable to the vice like grip the government and donor agencies have over the activities of these organizations. It has also become increasingly frequent to see reports written by these organizations differ greatly from the press statements and media interventions they make.
The end result is that one is often left wondering whose/which agenda CSOs and observe groups serve, why the conflicting positions and where (if) one can find unbiased and objective assessments of the electoral process. And this presents a challenge to the improvement of the process as it becomes difficult to find objective ways to improve the electoral process.
For instance, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) prepared a report that assess the 2023 general election as fair and credible, a far cry from what is contained in the press statements made by the organization and media interventions given by its staff, which gained significantly more traction than the report.
It is my recommendation that more electoral observer groups get involved in the Nigerian election process from the beginning rather than only towards election day. This will, amongst other things, ensure that gaps in the process are identified and plugged well ahead of time.
I also strongly recommend that CSOs and observer groups find and toe the fine line between the instinctive need to maintain their funding and the duty to objectively assess the electoral process and report their findings to the Nigerian people.
10. Politicians
Having discussed all else, I will now come to the biggest challenge to the electoral system itself – the politicians. It is ironic that politicians pose the biggest threat to a democratic process. However, the winner takes all nature of our political system means that politicians have the most incentive to subvert the process. And over the years, they have demonstrated the willingness and desperation to subvert it.
The ingenuity employed by politicians to seek out the loopholes in the legal and regulatory framework is enormous and their determination to find the gaps the process cannot be over emphasized.
It is the politicians that have designed the system of vote buying to circumvent the innovation of card readers and BVAS. It is the politicians that offer monetary inducements to key stakeholders in the electoral process including security agents and staff of the electoral commission to subvert the process or to look the other way. It is the politicians who continuously stress test the electoral eco-system to find the ways to weaken the process and gain an undue advantage. It is the politicians who pay thugs to disrupt the casting of votes and collation of results, and in so doing endanger the lives and properties of Nigerians.
It is now evident that the first step towards ensuring freer and more credible elections must resolve with designing systems that limit the influence politicians have over the electoral process. And this limitation must begin with reducing the influence politicians have over the appointment and employment of permanent and ad-hoc staff of the Commission.
We must also ensure speedier trials for people found subverting the process, including the politicians who offer the inducement and provide the logistic support, and enact legislation prescribing stiffer punishment for those crimes.
The challenge with achieving this objective is that we require the input of the very politicians whose excesses and influence we seek to curb in the first place. While the deployment of technology is proving very effective in curbing the shenanigans of the politicians, the human factors still remain highly susceptible to the inducements provided by the politicians.
I hope we find a solution to this conundrum soon because before our eyes the politicians are displaying and will continue to display a determination to find an undue advantage by subverting the electoral process as much as they can.
Even as I say it, the difficulty of this prospect stares me in the face. After all, it is the same politicians who perpetually refuse to abide by the internal rules of their own parties or conduct free, fair and credible primary processes, and who deploy all sorts of vicious antics against even their own party members.
Every single act of violence, every single piece of fake news, every manipulation of the electoral process, the subversion of law and regulations and the use of divisive rhetoric are always traceable to the interests of one politician or the other. And it leaves one in wonder – if you are so desperate to be voted for, why not just do good and be good to the people so they reward you with their votes? Why fail and then desperately seek to hijack the electoral process to get into office?
Nigerians seem to have the short end of the stick with its political class and scarily it appears that there is no help in sight.
11. I was a bit hesitant to include the judiciary in my assessment of the 2023 election, or indeed any other election. But its critical role in the preservation of our democracy can no longer be taken for granted. And it is my belief that the importance of the role of the judiciary and the need for it to be seen as an impartial arbiter must be restated at every available opportunity. The judiciary must now not only do justice, it must be seen to be doing justice.
This stance has become necessary in the wake of the all too frequent inconsistencies displayed by the judiciary, many times in violation of the provisions of the law and in flagrant disregard for decades of jurisprudence and decisions of the Court. Or the reliance on technicalities to determine cases rather than doing substantial justice in a bid to protect interests of politicians.
It has long since been the desired position that elections should be decided by the ballots not by the courts. However, every Nigerian must be worried when a former senator stands in the hallowed chambers of the Senate to say his wife used to give favourable judgments to his colleagues. Every Nigerian must be alarmed when a senator alleges that his election was overturned at the behest of the President of the Senate because he did not pander to certain interests. Every Nigerian must be concerned when a retiring Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria alleges that the bench is a cesspool of corruption, increasingly people by judges appointed on the basis of nepotism rather than competence and increasingly unwilling to be a fair arbiter in the best interest of the wider population.
It used to be that the outcome of certain cases can be determined by a careful study of previous decisions of our courts in the knowledge that the principles of stare decisis or judicial precedents will apply. However, this is no longer the case. It now seems “justice” is served dependent on the parties before the courts and whose interests need to be protected rather than the law.
Otherwise, how do you explain the judgment of the Supreme Court that declared Senator Ahmed Lawan as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Yobe North, even though he clearly did not participate in the primaries to produce a candidate? Or how do you explain the judgment of the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Imo State nullifying the election of Ikenga Ugochinyere as the House of Representatives member for the Ideato Federal Constituency on the basis that the primary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) did not comply with the party’s constitution, even though the position of the law and the Supreme Court is that only members of parties who participated in a primary can challenge the outcome of that primary? The list goes on and on.
We have departed from an era when litigants approached courts as the last hope of the common man into an era where the judiciary has become a willing tool in the hands of the political elite who subvert the electoral process to further rob the people of their electoral choices.
The unfortunate thing is that this era into which we have been unwillingly pushed threatens to consume us all as it only ensures that an already desperate political class is given an extra incentive for further desperation. And unless something is urgently done to compel the judiciary to assume its role as an impartial arbiter, politicians will view elections as a no holds barred venture they must win, regardless of the rules. And the phrase, “Go to court” will continually be thrown around in condescension and mockery.
The good thing is that the judiciary can save itself. The National Judicial Commission must immediately and more forcefully implement its rules and regulations and enforce its powers of supervision and discipline of any judge found to have given judgment that fly against the letter and the spirit of the law, and the disregard of jurisprudential principles established over the years. This internal mechanism designed to self-heal must be activated while there is still hope and while the faith of the public in the judiciary can still be restored. Otherwise, a day will come when the judgment of the people will be visited on the judiciary, as it is being visited on Nigeria’s political elite.
12. I think this is a good place to bring this presentation to a close. And I’d like to end the way I began by thanking the organizers for deeming me fit to lead this conversation today and by thanking all of you present for listening to me.
13. I will close my presentation by saying a short but very poignant prayer I have come to believe in so much: Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and all its peoples. Amen.
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30
Let us agree on this: prima facie, in many parts of the world, Nigeria and Rivers State inclusive, agriculture has not been maximally harnessed. This is so because, what we have seen happen in the sector has not contributed to fulfilling the vital function of feeding the people sufficiently. It has also not provided basic commodities as required, or helped desirably, in the generation of stable income too.
But this is not what it should be, neither should it be allowed to be so. This is why productive hands should not remain idle and germane efforts merely wished away when deliberate and consistently implemented policies can coordinate robust agricultural activities, necessarily so, to ensure support for human survival and promote enduring well-being. Perhaps, this is what sane leaders do in any society that plans to grow and also feed its people.
administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State is in such ranking: forward-looking and mindful of those things to do, that can help real growth of all facets of the society, howbeit, agriculture. It has taken decisions on what must be done in order to increase attention for agriculture, and mobilising requisite resources that will support in refocusing the interest of majority of Rivers youths, and indeed, agro-actors, towards harnessing agriculture potentials in Rivers State.
Nigeria has, regrettably remained a consumption-dependent economy, and Rivers State is a part of this quagmire. The reason for this is clear: age-long, chronic and troubling lack of holistic attention to public policy implementation on a consistent basis to achieve sustained progress. But pulling off from such stance, the Governor Fubara-led administration is resolved to strengthen the comparative advantage of Rivers State in the agriculture value chain. It is a herculean task but not impossible because the potentials are glaring. So, there has been careful examination of what should be done, and how it should to be done to achieve an agricultural growth status that will make the State stand out.
To start, Governor Fubara has taken a critical look at the level of existing support previously offered by the State Government to promoting agriculture before he assumed office. Books may not lie, even when there could be disparities in what is recorded and what can be seen on ground. That, in itself, does offer a bearing. So, at least, what is clear is that such support was often driven by the quest to achieve economic development, promote key target interests, set out the prescriptions and requirements that would boost agricultural production.
With mind set on the mantra of “Consolidation and Continuity”, vital decisions are being taken, arising from those critical scrutinies, not necessarily to undermine what existed but to establish a path for continuity. With a policy direction that should stimulate commercial farming, and let it signpost the level of awareness that should be created in achieving food security in the State, there has been a determined posture secured without ineluctably falling to the trappings of incoherence and poor coordination most policy initiatives had suffered.
So, to have a holistic perspective for the required results that are expected, the decisions being taken took into cognizance: the need to identify support or collaborations where none existed, commence one, and gear up efforts in seeking requisite and workable collaborations to achieve success. In areas where such support did exist, but were incongruous, a review has been streamlined to give a new direction. Where there was abandonment of any process, a revitalization has been decided and production capacities of endeavours of agro-actors strengthened.
There is also a focus on small holder farmers because their concerns are in keen consideration of what the administration intends to do in the sector. These farmers belong to the brackets of small and medium enterprises that do need greater opportunities facilitated for their agribusinesses in other for them to access credit that would enable them expand their portfolio. More efforts are being harnessed with a search for an effective synergy within favourable environment to attract investors and financial institutions into funnelling credit to farming endeavours and the process of having an updated databank is being formalised. Regardless, the Rivers State Government has brokered partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI) in the disbursement of N4billion to small scale entrepreneurs in the State. This is an initiative that should impact on the sector, nonetheless, if the beneficiaries were true to tact.
But of note is the review embarked upon by the government concerning its agricultural investment in the Songhai Integrated Farms. This farm is located in Bunu community, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State. The Songhai Integrated Farms sits on a vast expanse of land measuring 314 hectares. Where it sits was, in 1985 established as part of the School-to-Land Farms project. But it was repurposed in 2011 to become Songhai Integrated Farms.
It had distinct production sections that included livestock production, crop cultivation, fisheries, forestry, engineering services, agro-industrialization, and the training of aspiring farmers. The farm started off with an environmentally-sustainable agricultural production system that harnessed a holistic value-chain approach to ensure higher incomes for farmers and processors, as well as other agro-actors to guarantee social and economic prosperity.
It was set up to operate a self-driven zero waste farming model designed to protect the natural environment by mitigating the impacts of climate change. So, each production section was made up of different units, overseen by specialists who work in synergy. Within the production line, nothing became discard-able waste since the finished products/byproducts were sent from one production unit to another in a sequential manner to further transform them into other useful products for human use. It was a continuous circle, and consistently so to promote sustainable economy.
Those features had been carefully enumerated to have a proper understanding of the venture that was to make Rivers economy bigger and more progressive. But either by commission or omission, it became lame because it was driven into despicable condition, or rather, because it was abandoned. Every facility became decrepit as a result. For almost a decade, it remained so, and nothing was operational there. The hope that once soared, about all the potentials and contributions it was to make towards food security, and to provide gainful employment for the teeming Rivers youths, died, albeit, for the time it was in limbo.
Also, laid in waste were all the structures, those that were constructed with concrete, metallic, or wooden, and others that were installed, over the ground and underground. Most office equipment were stolen too, and carted away by vandals. The entire premises of the Songhai Integrated Farms became overgrown with short and tall grasses. And it was dangerously bushy too.
Those were the sorry sight that Governor Fubara beheld when he visited the farm on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The billions of naira in Rivers tax-payers’ money that was invested in the Songhai Integrated Farms project by the State Government went down the drains. So, the visit availed Governor Fubara the opportunity to do an on-the-spot assessment of the present condition of the farm, and ascertain what possible ways to bring it back to production stream again. On that visit, the Governor was conducted round the facility by the Manager of the Songhai Integrated Farms Project, Dr. Tammy Jaja. The revitalisation works to be done looked massive and very demanding but nothing is insoluble with political will, wisdom and courage.
In his explanation, Governor Fubara asserted the urgency that is required in restoring and repositioning the State for sustainable economic growth and development. With his visit, arising from the resolution reached when they last had the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where they had considered the exigency of diversifying the nation’s economy and harped on the need to cushion current economic hardship experienced by the citizenry, he was determined to kickstart the version for the State. In his words, Governor Fubara said: “In our last National Economic Council meeting, because of the present situation of our economy, which you are aware; the issue of removal of fuel subsidy and other economic bites affecting everyone, everybody was advised to diversify. The other option is agriculture, and we were all advised to see what we can do to improve on food sufficiency.”
The Governor had assured that his Administration was determined to use the Songhai Integrated Farms as a launching pad to revolutionise agriculture in Rivers State. To achieve that, everything would be done to revamp the Songhai Farms. And when revitalized, the economy of the State could then be diversified, providing foundation for the people to be engaged meaningfully while also increasing the food sufficiency capacity of the State.
Governor Fubara assured: “As I leave here now, we are going to bring in all the stakeholders to discuss the way forward. What I am seeing here will require long-term planning and going back to the site to reinstate the installed facilities that have become desolate. The State Government will not just do that, we will bring in people who have the resources, expertise, strength and commitment to partner with us to bring back this place to life. The advantages to be derived when this place comes back to life include food sufficiency and employment generation. It will also address issues of youth restiveness.”
That process has begun. The people who had been identified to have the strength and commitment to partner the State Government were already in touch, and brought to the negotiation table. The talking has been extensive and intensive. The best among them with more enduring approach and sustainable model are at the verge of being engaged. Songhai Integrated Farms must be revitalized. That is the commitment and it remains unwavering.
While the discussions were ongoing, the farm has been repossessed by the Government. It would no longer be accessed freely as thorough fare to members of the public as it was in the days of abandonment. Gradually, the clearing of the short and tall grasses and trees are ongoing, and would be concluded, eventually. What shall be done with that project would be devoid of a lack of clarity and the adopted plan, nothing of abrupt disruption is anticipated. For this farm, the level of independence with which it would operate would be such that it could remain dogged, contest its place within the sector and drive food sufficiency process at a pace more sustaining and enviable for the State.
Another investment that is of critical concern to the Government is the 45,000-metric tonnes Rivers Cassava Processing Company, which is located in Afam Community, Oyigbo Local Government Area. This is a multi-billion-naira investment that was engineered as a public-private partnership (PPP) venture between the Rivers State Government, Shell, Vieux Manioc BV of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Embassy. Understandably, the motivation for establishing this processing factory was to address the challenges of value addition of the cassava crop in the value chain sub-sector. So, the factory was inaugurated on May 28, 2021, as a company that will support the economy of Rivers State to earn more revenue from the cassava value chain. The company then had a board of directors in place, which helped in the preliminary stages of preparations leading to its inauguration. But barely within the first two months of start of production, the subsisting administration then dissolved the board, which left the company without adequate supervision to help it actualize its core mandate.
Things remained so until March 7, 2024, when Governor Fubara visited the factory. The visit, the Governor explained, was propelled by the desire to see the level of effectiveness and efficiency of the existing production line. He explained that the team managing the factory, led by the Managing Director of the Rivers Cassava Processing Plant, Ruben Giesen, had requested financial support, in a letter sent to him. This, the team said, would enable them complete two more production lines at the factory to increase capacity utilisation in order to churn out more products.
Governor Fubara said: “I got a request from the people who are managing the cassava processing plant that we need to extend our support for them to complete two production lines that will give them a standard that they can start to supply in earnest to a lot of distributors who need the products from this plant. And I felt it would be proper for me to see what we have already invested, the stage they are at, so that it will encourage us to give more support.”
Governor Fubara further said: “From what I have seen here today, it is really impressive. I can assure them that we are going to give the financial support to ensure that the production lines are all completed. This is to encourage them to go into full supply of the products with international standards to anywhere in the world.”
The promise given by Governor Fubara to inject more funds is with the aim of revitalising this mega cassava processing factory in order to ensure that the finished products meet internationally accepted standards. Of course, these are well intended responses, and the drive is to ensure an increase in quantum of food production capability and attain the level of sufficiency while also creating gainful employment for the growing youthful population of the State.
It is obvious that the Governor Fubara-led administration clearly understands that Nigeria is the largest cassava producer at the global level. It is on record, that Nigeria accounts for about one-fifth (20%) of total cassava production worldwide. Indeed, Rivers ranked among the Top Five Cassava Producing States in Nigeria. It is, therefore, of necessity and thoughtful of a Government that cares for its farmers, to keep keen interest on this factory, and ensure that it is supported to enhance value addition, and guarantee employment for the people.
In fact, Governor Fubara knows that this factory would also promote adoption and the use of 10 per cent high quality cassava flour (HQCF) in bread and confectionery businesses, so as to reduce wheat importation and conserve foreign exchange earnings to meet other needs. Indeed, cassava is one of the defining ingredients of our family lives in this region, and it is a valued crop in Niger Delta and in other parts of Nigeria. So, this factory, with the promised support from the Governor Fubara-led administration, will attain full operational status. This will further be propelled by feedstock from about 3,000 farmers within the farming communities and other far away farmers in neighbouring communities.
What the people need to understand is that, as long as this factory’s capacity is not fully strengthened, it will be difficult for it to receive uninterrupted supply of raw materials from the thousands of hectares that could be cultivated to service it. By extension, this means massive waste of hundreds of jobs its prospect assures, particularly the over 20,000 farm families that will earn income to enhance their livelihoods and improve their standard of living.
Even as the threat to food security continues to alarm watchers in Nigeria with food inflation rate rising from 33.93% in December, 2023 to 35.41% in January, 2024, and not yet abating, these efforts of the Rivers State Government are to ensure that people do not spend more money before they can afford enough food for themselves and their families. Instructively, if there is no change in focus and the required actions are taken, guided by well-thought-out policy and implemented with the right political will, the threat to acute food security will be reversed.
It is possible that at the end of the day, these measures geared towards building sustainable food systems will feed everyone, everywhere, and every day. The cry of hunger is loud and palpably so. And Governor Fubara understands that only a focused attention on finding enduring solutions through strategic investments in boosting agricultural yields and increasing its value chain would address the needs of the people. This is why the Government sees the initiatives as a task that must be done. The Governor’s eyes will remain on the ball, until desired results are achieved with maximum impact. That is a promise he made to the people, a SIMple promise he has vowed to fulfil without fear of intimidation or favour.
By: Nelson Chukwudi
This is the concluding part of this article first published on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
It is a huge signature infrastructure development initiative, driven by the Fubara-led administration, to stimulate and contribute to economic growth of the State in general, and to the impacted communities in particular. The assurances it brings, in part, are these: to enable a sustained social integration, which is a given, facilitating the acceptance process that would ease interaction among the people across the LGAs for social support, friendship, and foster intimacy. This single but far stretching road will also create a transportation connectivity that will ultimately ease mobility. This will enable people to have the ability to travel to work or business places, if such place of employment or business was in distant communities across the six LGAs that the road connects. In fact, the road promises to make the categorisation of Rivers State in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking very easy.
This is not a project stuck in the city. It is a major transportation artery that all motorists, and indeed, road users are gearing up to enjoy the reduced travel time benefit it will offer. Access to essential services like healthcare and education, including leisure will be made easier from the catchment communities into the city and in reverse. When there is good connectivity through roads, people more likely travel farther and explore new opportunities. This definitely leads to a better quality of life, and life expectancy.
Since the day of flag-off and with actual construction work commenced, the progress achieved has been heart-warming. The start point of the road is at the UTC Junction axis, off the AbonnemaWhaff Road. A transformational construction work is ongoing, meaning a redefinition of the entire landscape, including adjourning Abonnema Wharf area. From there, the road runs along and branches off into Njamanze Street, and with a quadrant curve, it turns to connect Rumuji and Sabagiriya streets. From there, it links Illoabuchi Street, and onward to Opobo Street. All of these are in Mile One and Two Diobu axis in Port Harcourt. It drives on to Eagle Island, then turns rightwards towards the back fence of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), from where the river-crossing bridge of 350 meters takes off, rising, crossing over the creek and descending to link Mgbuodohia community.
Again, the road runs from Mgbuodohia unto Aker Road. At St. John’s Catholic Church axis of the IAUE/Rumuepirikom Road, the first flyover is mounted. The second flyover is at the Ozuoba Junction axis of NTA/Mgbuoba/Choba road. The third flyover begins from the Rumuosi axis of the East-West Road and descends unto Rumuekeni community. The fourth flyover is at Rukpokwu and crosses over Port Harcourt Airport-Owerre Road unto Eneka, with a roundabout and trumpet arms on the Rumuokurusi-Igwuruta Road. The fifth flyover is elliptical in nature and rises from the Igbo-Etche community axis over the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway unto Iriebe Community at Elelenwo. The sixth flyover is at Alesa-Eleme, and runs across the East-West Road unto Abam-Ama in Okrika.
Specifically, the ring road criss-crosses many communities in six LGAs, including Port Harcourt City, Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Etche, Eleme and Okrika. Rivers State has 23 LGAs, and the road traverses six of 23 LGAs, representing approximately 24.38percent. In terms of population projection, Rivers State had 7,476,800 people as at 2022, occupying 9,669km² area, with 773.3/km² density, and has annual population change of 2.3% from 2006 to 2022. This also means that in terms of population growth, these six LGAs have seen significant rise in population, rising from 1,852,256 recorded in 2006 census to a projected 2,664,000 in 2022, out of a total state-wide population of 5,198,716 in 2006, and 7,476,800 in 2022. A further look shows that Port Harcourt City had 774,600 population in 2022 against 538,558 in 2006; Obio/Akpor had 665,000 in 2022 against 462,350 in 2006; and Eleme had 273,500 in 2022 against 190,194 in 2006. Also, Etche had a population of 249,939 in 2006 against 359,500 in 2022; Okrika had 222,285 in 2006 against 319,700 in 2022; and Ikwerre had 188,930 in 2006 against 271,700 in 2022. Even as conservative as these population figures show, the numbers exhibit signs of explosion in concentration owing to inflow of economic activities and concerns, thereby justifying the urgency for a good network of roads linking all six LGAs to facilitate interactions between their peoples, investments therein as well as goods and services.
Therefore, the ring road serves as to connect other roads, creating a perfect linkage between communities that will surely advance rural connectivity while offering multiplier gains that could reflect in growth in local employment, livelihood enhancements and other enablers of sustainable development. When such local employment opportunities are identified and accessible, a much-needed safety net would have been created to reduce financial distress that weigh so heavily on the people.
Of course, adequate compensation has also been paid to owners of property on the right of way and affected by the construction. Estate valuers had done proper evaluation and assessment of each property so affected. Payment is still ongoing, but is being done after all the certifications have been verified. No one is short-changed, and it is only when payment has been done that affected property are pulled down and the site cleared.
Expectedly, those negatively affected by the construction work are wont to complain, particularly of low value of compensation payment. It is human to so do. But the truth is: No amount of compensation by government can offset the cost of building new structures either for residential, industrial or corporate business purposes. That is one of the sacrifices people make for new infrastructure development projects to take place, especially in populated areas. Another inconvenience is traffic diversion and disruptions, occasioning stress and manhours lost in travel time, especially when it comes to road construction projects. Again, such pains and sufferings are natural in heavily populated areas, and remain the price we pay for development to take place.
In Rivers State, the people have made similar sacrifices in the past for government development projects to come on stream. Whether it is under the military junta from 1967 to 1979, 1984 to 1991, or 1993 to 1999; or under the civilian administrations from 1979 to 1983, 1992 to 1993, or 1999 to date; history is replete with moments of human sufferings triggered by the execution of road infrastructure development projects, including flyovers, interchanges and bridges. In recent memory, the Dr Peter Odili, Chibuike Amaechi and Nyesom Wike governments are characterised by many such undertaking resulting in demolition of structures along project rights of way and or diversion of traffic thereof. Residents, landlords, business owners and motorists impacted by the Ikwerre Road expansion from Education Bus Stop in Port Harcourt City to Airport Junction in Ikwerre LGA by former Governor Peter Odili can remember vividly what they went through. Or is it the impacts of the dualization of Peter Odili Road, Rumuobiakani-Oginigba-Slaughter Road, Artillery-Rumuomasi Old Aba Road, Woji-Okporo-Rumuodara Road, Rumuomasi-Elekahia-Waja Junction Road, Nkpogu-Amadi-Ama/Nkpogu-NLNG Roads, Rumuokurusi-Elimgbu-Eneka-Igwuruta Road, Rumuola Road, Rumuokwuta-Mgbuoba-Ozuoba-Choba Road, Eliozu flyover, AGIP Junction flyover, and Eleme Junction Interchange, among others by the Chibuike Amaechi administration? Or the sufferings that the construction of Oro-Abali, Rebisi, Rumuogba, Okoro-Nu-Odo, Rumuokwuta, Rumuepirikom, GRA Junction, Oroworukwo, and Rumuola flyovers, among others, unleashed on the people during the Nyesom Wike years? All are signposts of the impact, whether negative or positive, that the execution of infrastructure development projects in populated areas bring.
Now, to the specifics of the ongoing construction work: The project sites have been cleared, piers, including the vertical support structures of the flyover bridges have been cast and mounted. At some sections that have been so cleared, top soils have been removed to allow for unbound mixture of coarse, fine crushed stones, together with crushed sand have been laid in most areas. These will enable the road to achieve the desired load-bearing capacity and prevent the underlying subgrade from being deformed while absorbing traffic loads. And across many sections of the road, massive construction activities are ongoing at high intensity. Of course, the ring road comes with walkways, and street lighting too.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, visited two sections of the construction site and was conducted round by the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr. Lars Richter. The Governor took a ride on a section of the stretch of the road, pulling off from the Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport Road axis, through the Jesuit Memorial School in Elikpokwuodu Community unto Rukpokwu on the Port Harcourt Airport-Owerre Road intersection. From there, he moved on through Rumuodomaya – Rumuokoro to Rumuosi and Ozuoba communities before terminating the inspection tour at the UTC Junction.
At the end of the inspection tour, the Governor expressed satisfaction with the progress of work achieved thus far. He said: “I think that we are good, considering the understanding that we had with Julius Berger Nigeria PLC. We signed off that in 36 months, this project will be done and delivered. And with what I have seen, they are meeting up that target. I think that we have a few issues: the price rate of things at that time we signed the contract and what subsists presently is not the same due to high inflation and the exchange rate spike.
“But whatever it is, I have assured the contractor that we are going to provide the necessary support to make sure that we deliver. You know this project is very important to us. It is one of the first things that I signed off when I came in as the Governor of this State. It is a signature project for me, whichever way anybody wants to look at it. We signed on for it. We are paying dearly for it, and it is one of the objectives of this administration to make sure that we deliver it to our people”, he noted.
In his remarks, Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr. Lars Richter, gave explanation of the milestone achieved by the company. He said: “I think we went along various alignments of the road. We could see several spots where we are working: Is it on the U-channels? Is it on the road construction? Or even on the two flyovers? Over the East-West Road, we had started with laying of the first beams on one of the flyovers. On the other flyover, we will soon finish drilling; we are using two drilling rigs to complete the piling. We are moving to the second flyover already.
“So, you can see, the first flyover we started on January 15, 2024. Two months later, we are already laying the beams. So, we are on track. We are on schedule as we promised His Excellency. I am really satisfied with the work, with my team. Of course, I am satisfied with His Excellency for his support. I am excited that we had the opportunity today to inspect the road together, and to discuss also the challenges; for example, compensation and relocation. He has assured me that everything will be done as soon as possible so that we can also meet our timeline. I am really happy and satisfied with the work here”, he said.
Indeed, his assurance is testament that Governor Fubara means well for Rivers State, and that his administration is working tirelessly to deliver quality good governance to the people. This road, among others, is a genuine proof of that commitment! Increasingly, Rivers people will not be burdened with limited access to road infrastructure that they had suffered when this road is finally delivered. This is particularly as it relates to urban-rural connectivity because such limited access to road had inhibited easier mobility of people, and undoubtedly delayed their access to the benefits of development. So, the disproportionate disadvantages that people likely suffer will be over soon. I dare say that the Port Harcourt Ring Road will improve rural infrastructure. Governor Fubara makes me see it so because he knows it as much as that, which is why he has designed it in a manner that it is seen as a crucial pathway to alleviating poverty.
Also, to be noted is that this road adds to the long-sought after solution to resolving the traffic congestions experienced in parts of Diobu axis of Port Harcourt, particularly on Ikwerre Road. Such traffic jams, over and again, had caused unnecessary pollution, and arguably, raises environmental concerns, and other levels of disruption on economic development.
A well-constructed road, as we are seeing of the ring road, assures that travel time will be reduced for motorists, and indeed, all road users getting out of the city centre. Another is the fact that there will be increase in the speed limits that motorists will apply, while also providing smoother driving experience. There will be overall transportation efficiency within the benefitting communities. What else can be a good respite for motorists other than knowing that the derivable benefits extend to enjoying reduced fuel consumption rate, lower vehicle maintenance costs, and increased productivity level for businesses.
The truism about this is remarkable: When a city is beautiful in outlay, it is 80percent a reflection of the good roads that have been provided, well developed and maintained. Without a doubt, the city of Port Harcourt is growing and expanding. So should the road infrastructure, essentially so that it does not only accommodate the increasing population density and the associated urbanization but diffuse same to border communities in none urban LGAs so as to decongest the metropolis. By all means, Governor Fubara is using this road to contribute to the socio-economic and cultural development of rural communities in particular and the state in general.
By: Nelson Chukwudi
It is massive. It is gigantic.
It is expensive. It is first of its kind. It is a legacy signature impression. It is the single largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by any sub-national government in Nigeria. It is the Port Harcourt Ring Road!
The Port Harcourt Ring Road project is a clear evidence of Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara’s resilience, foresight and exhibition of political will to take tough decisions. The project shows a convincing strength of courage. Moving what was once a concept on the drawing board for decades into the sphere of reality, does not depict weakness but strong commitment and determination to dare, and do extraordinary things.
Lest we forget, this ring road project for Port Harcourt was first contemplated decades ago. The initial proposals were made in the 1970s during the military era. When the administration of Chief Rufus Ada-George superintended the State between January 1992 and November 1993, the idea was birthed again. At the time, Port Harcourt City was not as expansive as it is now, and some of the areas were forested and uninhabited.
With the Ada-George’s concept, the ring road was to run from then Slaughter at Oginigba in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area through Okujagu to Abuloma, Amadi-Ama, and connect Eastern Bypass to Amadi Flats, Old GRA to Aba Road by Abali Park, all in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area. He also thought of linking Borokiri to Okrika by road and bridges. Another section was to begin from Njemanze, connect Nanka to Illoabuchi, link Eagle Island also in Port Harcourt City to Rumueme. But that link was not finalised. However, he okayed the Rumueme-Rumuepirikom-Mgbuoba link road connecting Ozuoba through the popular Rumuokwuta-Ozuoba-Choba Road. It was to via off at Ozuoba to East-West Road in Obio/Akpor. It also was to connect Port Harcourt-Owerri Road by Airport Junction in Ikwerre Local Government. Here again, the administration could not take the project off the drawing board.
The administration of Dr Peter Odili, between 1999 and 2007, understood the importance of the ring road to the economic rejuvenation, and revived the project to attract investments to the State. It actually executed the first stretch of the road from Slaughter through Okujagu to Abuloma, and then, linked Amadi-Ama to Eastern Bypass and Amadi Flats. It completed that section of the road on a single lane ticket. It further connected Mgbuoba to East-West Road by now Obiri-Ikwerre. The project was not 100 percent completed.
During the Chibuike Amaechi’s eight years in the saddle between 2007 and 2015, the administration dualised the Peter Odili Road, reckoning with its potential benefits in opening up the city of Port Harcourt to accelerated development. It also embarked on the construction of the Ada-George Road, and dualised it, linking it to Rumuokwuta-Mgbuoba-Ozuoba-Choba road. He completed it. He also completed the Mgbuoba-East-West link road by Obiri-Ikwerre. Amaechi constructed an interchange on East-West Road by Obiri-Ikwerre, and began the dualisation of Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport Road, which he named after Prof Tam David-West. He did not complete the road before the expiration of his tenure.
In addition to that, Amaechi initiated the extension of the ring road by connecting Prof Tam David-West Road in Greater Port Harcourt City Area through Igwuruta, with a flyover across Port Harcourt-Owerre Road by Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) office in Ikwerre Local Government Area. That new design was to take the road from Ikwerre Local Government through Eneka in Obio/Akpor, to Etche Local Government; again, connecting Iriebe in Obio/Akpor, across Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway, and link Agbonchia, Ebubu, Ogale to Onne in Eleme Local Government Area. The project was also commenced but abandoned by the administration.
On arrival in office in 2015 as Governor, Nyesom Wike took up Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport Road, and completed it. He did that because he bought into the idea tapping into the obvious benefits of the ring road to the sustainable development of the State. The current ring road project was first suggested in 2019, but gained approval from the Rivers State Executive Council in 2020. Wike reasoned that redesigning the route will better serve the overall interest of the State. He contracted Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to do the design. What the contractor put out was inconclusive before Wike left office on May 29, 2023. Little wonder he did not factor the project into the 2023 budget.
But the paradigm shift in concept made the new project unique in many ways. The route traverses six local government areas – Port Harcourt City, Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Etche, Eleme and Okrika – and connects Port Harcourt in a circular form. It covers 50.15km dual carriageway, with varied widths of between 7.6m and 29.2m where there are service lanes. It also has six flyovers, and one major river crossing bridge. In addition, it has not less than 19 roundabouts. But despite the importance attached to it by Wike, he did not make any budgetary allocation to the project in the 2023 Appropriation Act.
Indeed, it took the administration of Sir Siminalayi Fubara to take the project off the drawing board, and ensure that the N195billion project was actually flagged-off on Monday, July 17, 2023. How did it happen? Governor Fubara awarded the contract for the project to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc in July, 2023, barely 50 days into the new administration, with a target completion date of 36 months, which draws into 2025.
The Governor did that because he understood the importance of the project. For this reason, he sent a supplementary budget of N200billion to the Rivers State House of Assembly because funding of the project was not provided for in the budget he inherited. On the day he assented to the supplementary budget in Government House, Governor Fubara stated: “Let me on behalf of the Executive arm of government commend you for your prompt response to the supplementary budget. We are a product of Consolidation and Continuity. We will implement every good idea by the previous administration geared towards improving the lives of Rivers people.”
On the day of flag-off of the project at UTC Junction in Port Harcourt, Governor Fubara said, “When all these places are opened up, people, including real estate investors, will start moving in, and businesses will open up the areas because people have started acquiring land there”. He also said that the road will not only facilitate travels, decongest traffic in the city centre, but will further boost interactions, social and cultural exchanges between communities and populations in the various LGAs along the 50.15km route.
Honestly, successive governments from 1970s to 2023, had seen the importance and overarching benefits of the ring road to the socio-economic growth and development of the State. This is why any discerning minds would reckon with the serious attention past governors and administrators placed on bringing to fruition the life of the Port Harcourt Ring Road as a key to fast tracking the overall development of the State. Therefore, dismissing the project as “not of any significant economic benefit to the State”, shows how short-sighted purveyors of this negative narrative definitely are. Even more laughable is the assumption that “the project is not fundamentally different from the 12 flyovers built by the immediate past administration of Nyesom Wike”.
Let’s take a tour of the benefits a little bit. The project signals a pivotal milestone for Rivers State. It has the potential to enhance the quality of life for residents and stimulate substantial economic growth in the region. It stands as a valuable asset for the State, facilitating smoother transportation and communication between its various LGAs. By addressing traffic congestion, enhancing transportation linkages, generating employment opportunities, and stimulating economic growth, this signature infrastructure project will undoubtedly leave a lasting positive impact on the State for generations to come.
The road will decongest traffic in Port Harcourt, providing an effective bypass route for inner city traffic, alleviating congestion and significantly improving traffic flow within the city. No doubt, this will reduce travel times and improve air quality, making the city more livable for residents.
It will improve transportation link between different parts of the state, by facilitating seamless logistics connectivity for different areas, promoting greater mobility for both people and goods. It will also boost economic activities, make investment decisions easy, and help reduce poverty in the land. Another plank of its benefits is the fact that the road will create a substantial number of direct and indirect employment opportunities, stimulate economic growth and uplift thousands of livelihoods. The local communities will boom and unemployment will reduce. The economic benefits include the fact that it is a major investment that gives hope to thousands of people; just as it will open up new areas for development and influx of new businesses, increasing ease of doing business and accelerating investors’ confidence in the state.
Now, let’s dig a little bit into the details of the project. The ring road, understandably, is an essential component required to achieve sustained socio-economic development. In fact, roads make movements easier, of a person, goods or services, from one point to another. This road will be doing just more than that because it is not just a path secluded within the city, it is of a diverse nature, conveying traffic more out of the city centre, to six LGAs on a seamless drive. To be able to navigate one’s way easily in and out of the metropolis on such road cannot be dismissed as a waste of scarce resources. Obviously not! On the contrary, the decision-making process for the project must have been guided by sound wisdom, political will and foresight.
This road, like well-planned routes, make urban areas rampantly inhabited, which is why they flourish. The ring road, sprouting out from the city centre, offers any travellers a chance to criss-cross several communities on one smooth drive while not pulling off; and can return to the city in a circular drive. It is a far stretching, wide enough road. With a length that is 50.15km, out of which 45km is dual carriageway, the road has six distinct flyovers, measuring 4.8km, and one river-crossing bridge of 350m. There are four lanes on each side. Altogether, there are 19 roundabouts and rotary intersections.
It is a huge signature infrastructure development initiative, driven by the Fubara-led administration, to stimulate and contribute to economic growth of the State in general, and to the impacted communities in particular. The assurances it brings, in part, are these: to enable a sustained social integration, which is a given, facilitating the acceptance process that would ease interaction among the people across the LGAs for social support, friendship, and foster intimacy. This single but far stretching road will also create a transportation connectivity that will ultimately ease mobility. This will enable people to have the ability to travel to work or business places, if such place of employment or business was in distant communities across the six LGAs that the road connects. In fact, the road promises to make the categorisation of Rivers State in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking very easy.
This is not a project stuck in the city. It is a major transportation artery that all motorists, and indeed, road users are gearing up to enjoy the reduced travel time benefit it will offer. Access to essential services like
healthcare and education, including leisure will be made easier from the catchment communities into the city and in reverse. When there is good connectivity through roads, people more likely travel farther and explore new opportunities. This definitely leads to a better quality of life, and life expectancy.
Since the day of flag-off and with actual construction work commenced, the progress achieved has been heart-warming. The start point of the road is at the UTC Junction axis, off the Abonnema Whaff Road. A transformational construction work is ongoing, meaning a redefinition of the entire landscape, including adjourning Abonnema Wharf area. From there, the road runs along and branches off into Njamanze Street, and with a quadrant curve, it turns to connect Rumuji and Sabagiriya streets. From there, it links Illoabuchi Street, and onward to Opobo Street. All of these are in Mile One and Two Diobu axis in Port Harcourt. It drives on to Eagle Island, then turns rightwards towards the back fence of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), from where the river-crossing bridge of 350 meters takes off, rising, crossing over the creek and descending to link Mgbuodohia community.
Again, the road runs from Mgbuodohia unto Aker Road. At St. John’s Catholic Church axis of the IAUE/Rumuepirikom Road, the first flyover is mounted. The second flyover is at the Ozuoba Junction axis of NTA/Mgbuoba/Choba road. The third flyover begins from the Rumuosi axis of the East-West Road and descends unto Rumuekeni community. The fourth flyover is at Rukpokwu and crosses over Port Harcourt Airport-Owerre Road unto Eneka, with a roundabout and trumpet arms on the Rumuokurusi-Igwuruta Road. The fifth flyover is elliptical in nature and rises from the Igbo-Etche community axis over the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway unto Iriebe Community at Elelenwo. The sixth flyover is at Alesa-Eleme, and runs across the East-West Road unto Abam-Ama in Okrika.
Specifically, the ring road criss-crosses many communities in six LGAs, including Port Harcourt City, Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Etche, Eleme and Okrika. Rivers State has 23 LGAs, and the road traverses six of 23 LGAs, representing approximately 24.38percent. In terms of population projection, Rivers State had 7,476,800 people as at 2022, occupying 9,669km² area, with 773.3/km² density, and has annual population change of 2.3% from 2006 to 2022. This also means that in terms of population growth, these six LGAs have seen significant rise in population, rising from 1,852,256 recorded in 2006 census to a projected 2,664,000 in 2022, out of a total state-wide population of 5,198,716 in 2006, and 7,476,800 in 2022. A further look shows that Port Harcourt City had 774,600 population in 2022 against 538,558 in 2006; Obio/Akpor had 665,000 in 2022 against 462,350 in 2006; and Eleme had 273,500 in 2022 against 190,194 in 2006. Also, Etche had a population of 249,939 in 2006 against 359,500 in 2022; Okrika had 222,285 in 2006 against 319,700 in 2022; and Ikwerre had 188,930 in 2006 against 271,700 in 2022. Even as conservative as these population figures show, the numbers exhibit signs of explosion in concentration owing to inflow of economic activities and concerns, thereby justifying the urgency for a good network of roads linking all six LGAs to facilitate interactions between their peoples, investments therein as well as goods and services.
Therefore, the ring road serves as to connect other roads, creating a perfect linkage between communities that will surely advance rural connectivity while offering multiplier gains that could reflect in growth in local employment, livelihood enhancements and other enablers of sustainable development. When such local employment opportunities are identified and accessible, a much-needed safety net would have been created to reduce financial distress that weigh so heavily on the people.
Of course, adequate compensation has also been paid to owners of property on the right of way and affected by the construction. Estate valuers had done proper evaluation and assessment of each property so affected. Payment is still ongoing, but is being done after all the certifications have been verified. No one is short-changed, and it is only when payment has been done that affected property are pulled down and the site cleared.
Expectedly, those negatively affected by the construction work are wont to complain, particularly of low value of compensation payment. It is human to so do. But the truth is: No amount of compensation by government can offset the cost of building new structures either for residential, industrial or corporate business purposes. That is one of the sacrifices people make for new infrastructure development projects to take place, especially in populated areas. Another inconvenience is traffic diversion and disruptions, occasioning stress and manhours lost in travel time, especially when it comes to road construction projects. Again, such pains and sufferings are natural in heavily populated areas, and remain the price we pay for development to take place.
In Rivers State, the people have made similar sacrifices in the past for government development projects to come on stream. Whether it is under the military junta from 1967 to 1979, 1984 to 1991, or 1993 to 1999; or under the civilian administrations from 1979 to 1983, 1992 to 1993, or 1999 to date; history is replete with moments of human sufferings triggered by the execution of road infrastructure development projects, including flyovers, interchanges and bridges. In recent memory, the Dr Peter Odili, Chibuike Amaechi and Nyesom Wike governments are characterised by many such undertaking resulting in demolition of structures along project rights of way and or diversion of traffic thereof. Residents, landlords, business owners and motorists impacted by the Ikwerre Road expansion from Education Bus Stop in Port Harcourt City to Airport Junction in Ikwerre LGA by former Governor Peter Odili can remember vividly what they went through. Or is it the impacts of the dualization of Peter Odili Road, Rumuobiakani-Oginigba-Slaughter Road, Artillery-Rumuomasi Old Aba Road, Woji-Okporo-Rumuodara Road, Rumuomasi-Elekahia-Waja Junction Road, Nkpogu-Amadi-Ama/Nkpogu-NLNG Roads, Rumuokurusi-Elimgbu-Eneka-Igwuruta Road, Rumuola Road, Rumuokwuta-Mgbuoba-Ozuoba-Choba Road, Eliozu flyover, AGIP Junction flyover, and Eleme Junction Interchange, among others by the Chibuike Amaechi administration? Or the sufferings that the construction of Oro-Abali, Rebisi, Rumuogba, Okoro-Nu-Odo, Rumuokwuta, Rumuepirikom, GRA Junction, Oroworukwo, and Rumuola flyovers, among others, unleashed on the people during the Nyesom Wike years? All are signposts of the impact, whether negative or positive, that the execution of infrastructure development projects in populated areas bring.
Now, to the specifics of the ongoing construction work: The project sites have been cleared, piers, including the vertical support structures of the flyover bridges have been cast and mounted. At some sections that have been so cleared, top soils have been removed to allow for unbound mixture of coarse, fine crushed stones, together with crushed sand have been laid in most areas. These will enable the road to achieve the desired load-bearing capacity and prevent the underlying subgrade from being deformed while absorbing traffic loads. And across many sections of the road, massive construction activities are ongoing at high intensity. Of course, the ring road comes with walkways, and street lighting too.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, visited two sections of the construction site and was conducted round by the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr. Lars Richter. The Governor took a ride on a section of the stretch of the road, pulling off from the Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport Road axis, through the Jesuit Memorial School in Elikpokwuodu Community unto Rukpokwu on the Port Harcourt Airport-Owerre Road intersection. From there, he moved on through Rumuodomaya – Rumuokoro to Rumuosi and Ozuoba communities before terminating the inspection tour at the UTC Junction.
At the end of the inspection tour, the Governor expressed satisfaction with the progress of work achieved thus far. He said: “I think that we are good, considering the understanding that we had with Julius Berger Nigeria PLC. We signed off that in 36 months, this project will be done and delivered. And with what I have seen, they are meeting up that target. I think that we have a few issues: the price rate of things at that time we signed the contract and what subsists presently is not the same due to high inflation and the exchange rate spike.
“But whatever it is, I have assured the contractor that we are going to provide the necessary support to make sure that we deliver. You know this project is very important to us. It is one of the first things that I signed off when I came in as the Governor of this State. It is a signature project for me, whichever way anybody wants to look at it. We signed on for it. We are paying dearly for it, and it is one of the objectives of this administration to make sure that we deliver it to our people”, he noted.
In his remarks, Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr. Lars Richter, gave explanation of the milestone achieved by the company. He said: “I think we went along various alignments of the road. We could see several spots where we are working: Is it on the U-channels? Is it on the road construction? Or even on the two flyovers? Over the East-West Road, we had started with laying of the first beams on one of the flyovers. On the other flyover, we will soon finish drilling; we are using two drilling rigs to complete the piling. We are moving to the second flyover already.
“So, you can see, the first flyover we started on January 15, 2024. Two months later, we are already laying the beams. So, we are on track. We are on schedule as we promised His Excellency. I am really satisfied with the work, with my team. Of course, I am satisfied with His Excellency for his support. I am excited that we had the opportunity today to inspect the road together, and to discuss also the challenges; for example, compensation and relocation. He has assured me that everything will be done as soon as possible so that we can also meet our timeline. I am really happy and satisfied with the work here”, he said.
Indeed, his assurance is testament that Governor Fubara means well for Rivers State, and that his administration is working tirelessly to deliver quality good governance to the people. This road, among others, is a genuine proof of that commitment! Increasingly, Rivers people will not be burdened with limited access to road infrastructure that they had suffered when this road is finally delivered. This is particularly as it relates to urban-rural connectivity because such limited access to road had inhibited easier mobility of people, and undoubtedly delayed their access to the benefits of development. So, the disproportionate disadvantages that people likely suffer will be over soon. I dare say that the Port Harcourt Ring Road will improve rural infrastructure. Governor Fubara makes me see it so because he knows it as much as that, which is why he has designed it in a manner that it is seen as a crucial pathway to alleviating poverty.
Also, to be noted is that this road adds to the long-sought after solution to resolving the traffic congestions experienced in parts of Diobu axis of Port Harcourt, particularly on Ikwerre Road. Such traffic jams, over and again, had caused unnecessary pollution, and arguably, raises environmental concerns, and other levels of disruption on economic development.
A well-constructed road, as we are seeing of the ring road, assures that travel time will be reduced for motorists, and indeed, all road users getting out of the city centre. Another is the fact that there will be increase in the speed limits that motorists will apply, while also providing smoother driving experience. There will be overall transportation efficiency within the benefitting communities. What else can be a good respite for motorists other than knowing that the derivable benefits extend to enjoying reduced fuel consumption rate, lower vehicle maintenance costs, and increased productivity level for businesses.
The truism about this is remarkable: When a city is beautiful in outlay, it is 80percent a reflection of the good roads that have been provided, well developed and maintained. Without a doubt, the city of Port Harcourt is growing and expanding. So should the road infrastructure, essentially so that it does not only accommodate the increasing population density and the associated urbanization but diffuse same to border communities in none urban LGAs so as to decongest the metropolis. By all means, Governor Fubara is using this road to contribute to the socio-economic and cultural development of rural communities in particular and the state in general.
Nelson Chukwudi is the Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State Governor, and writes from Government House, Port Harcourt.
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