Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has acknowledged the food basket status of Etche land, and expressed the determination of his administration to boost agricultural activities in the area as agriculture tool to fight hunger and guarantee food sufficiency.
The Governor also said that the reconstruction of the Egwi-Afara-Mba Road is preparatory to the planned effort to increase commercial Agriculture in Etche land.
Governor Fubara gave the assurance at the official flag-off of the 12.3 Kilometres Egwi-Afara-Mba Road project in Etche Local Government Area, last Wednesday.
Governor Fubara stated that the gesture of the road construction, in part, is to express his gratitude to Etche people for their support and firm belief in him and his administration, adding: “Thank you for believing in us, and thank you for still standing with us. Our thank you will not be limited to the construction of roads alone. Our thank you will still extend to the development of your people: manpower development.
“This is because, if we finish (complete) the road project, and we don’t have the right manpower, the rightful employment opportunities and proper engagement of our youths, the road will still be useless. So, we are not going to limit it to just the road, but we will bring agricultural development to Etche, knowing fully well that Etche is the food basket of the State.
“So, what have come to do this afternoon is to do the preparation. This road is part of what we are going to use to transport those Agricultural produce that we are going to generate here.”
Governor Fubara urged the people to give the contractor all the necessary support to ensure that the project is achieved within six months, explaining that, should there be need to extend the completion timeline of six months, it should be because the road has been stretched beyond its current length to link Etche to Imo State as already requested by Ochie of Etche Ethnic Nationality, His Eminence, Eze E. M. B. Opurum.
He said, “So, I hereby direct the Hon Commissioner for Works to extend this project as requested by the Etche people. I am also aware that, once a good thing is about coming, there will be sabotage. You don’t need to fall into that trap. At the end of the day, this project belongs to the Etche people. It doesn’t belong to Fubara.
“I am not doing it with my money. It will be wrong to say I am doing it. The Rivers State Government, under my administration, is executing this project. So, it is not about me, it is about the people that we are serving. It is about the legacy we are leaving behind, and it is about the people that we are going to make happy when we leave the office.”
Governor Fubara explained that the policy of his administration is not to glorify in mere flag-off ceremonies but to ensure that the projects are executed, completed, inaugurated, and actually put to use, noting the importance of the road and significant benefits it affords all Etche sons and daughters, including those opposed to his administration.
Governor Fubara said: “This road will cut across and even in front of the houses of those who want to kill us. But this will be to tell them that the things that others couldn’t do for them, we are not looking at their faces but doing it. What we are doing is for the people of Etche”.
Flagging-off the project, former Governor of Rivers State, Sir Celestine Omehia, expressed delight for being the person to make history by laying the foundation stone for such infrastructure development in rural communities.
He asserted: “Etche is the cassava belt of Nigeria. The highest quantity of cassava produced in Etche and Ikwerre put together can feed Nigeria as long as it can. Your Excellency, one other thing that we can understand is that even the palm trees planted in the area by SIAT Nigeria Limited (formerly Risonpalm Company) are also important to the economic growth and development of Nigeria.”
It is for these reasons, he noted, that the Egwi-Afara-Mba Road project, is of immense economic importance, not only to the Etche people but to Nigeria in general.
He pointed to the fact that Rivers State is the most respected state because of the economic lifeline that it provides Nigeria, lamenting that it is disheartening to imagine that Rivers sons, in the guise of politics, will demarket the State and destroy its economic strength.
He added, “Many Rivers children who are outside the State are trying to bring Rivers State down. If you demarket your own State, no person will respect your State. There are many people outside Rivers State that are trying to demarket the State. Two, three years ago, Your Excellency, some leaders of the State were saying that Ministers from Rivers State must bring projects to the State. Today, we are asking questions.
“When Rotimi Amaechi was the Minister, people were asking questions to say: what are the projects you have brought? Today, we are asking the same question: how many projects have you brought into Etche? How many projects have we received in Ikwerre Local Government? How many projects have we received in Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality? We are waiting.”
Providing the project description, the State Commissioner for Works, Barrister Elloka Tasie-Amadi, said the Egwi-Afara-Mba Road project is scheduled for completion in nine months, clarifying that his ministry is doing its best by pressuring the contractor to take advantage of the clement weather and deliver the project in six months.
He said, “This road starts from Egwi; passes through Afara; and terminates at Mba in Etche Local Government Area. The road is 12.3 kilometres. We have 9,000 meters of drainage in the populated areas, and the road is 10.3 meters wide, 7.3 of the width is a carriageway, and 3 meters is the shoulder, 1.5 meters on the either side of the road”.
In his welcome address, Executive Chairman of Etche Local Government Area, Mr Uzodinma Nwafor, thanked Governor Fubara for being in Etche land thrice in two weeks to inaugurate, flag-off projects, and also attend Etche first festival of food, culture and art, and assured the total support of the people to the present administration.
On his part, Area Manager of Setraco Nigeria Ltd, the firm handling the project, Engr Michael Issa, said the road project is a vital infrastructure that is 12km long with 100meters connecting roads, accompanied by 8.8km of drainage systems, emphasising their delight and honour in being trusted to play a role in actualising it, just as he pledged to deliver quality road that will last a long time.