The Rivers State Government would soon commission the Rivers Cassava Processing Company as a model for agricultural development in the state.
The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, disclosed this when he appeared as a guest on a live radio current affairs programme in Port Harcourt, last Saturday.
Nsirim said that 3,000 uptakers, who would be involved in what he called ‘Cassava Revolution’, have already been engaged.
“The truth of the matter in governance is that you cannot take everything at once. But we are looking at this cassava processing company as a model for agricultural development in the state.
“You know when you want to start something, you can start with a little thing at first; progress, see the challenges, and then, you move on to the next one. But this one that is going to happen very soon, you can’t find it anywhere in this country.
“It is designed in a way that machines go to the farms, harvest the cassava, clean them up at the farm, and then, bring them to the factory. The farmers don’t need to go to harvest; they don’t need to enter their farm locations.
“It is novel, so gradually; we will be building on this because Governor Nyesom Wike desires to also make agriculture the centre-piece of this administration. So, we are kick-starting with this cassava processing company in the next few weeks”.
He assured that with the concentration of large cassava farmers in Ikwerre, Etche, Oyigbo, Ogoni, amongst other ethnic groups in Rivers State, the company would not lack adequate supply of raw materials for its effectiveness.
“And this is what we need to note: feasibility study was carried out before siting the project. So, what is happening here is that feasibility study has shown clearly there will be raw materials for this factory! You can’t just go and put an investment when you can’t get raw materials for it,” he said.
He enumerated the huge socio-economic benefits of the flyover bridges being constructed by the Governor Nyesom Wike-led administration, adding that aside from saving man-hours and easy access to economic activities, the government has, as part of the contract agreement with Julius Berger, a trainee engineer scheme for indigenes to be equipped with relevant skills in their areas of discipline.
He said it was important to showcase the good works of Governor Wike because “what you see happening in Rivers State is essentially an infrastructural revolution, and for people who thought that Governor Nyesom Wike will not even have money to pay salaries, when he took over office as governor, I think that it is important for them to see that visionary leadership and strategic thinking can turn a state like ours into a model. And so, the truth of the matter is, a lot of people want to come to Rivers State now because of the developmental strides that are going on,” he emphasised.
Nsirim reassured the people of the state of the commitment of Governor Wike to the prompt completion of the new flyover projects to be flagged-off at Waterlines and Ikoku axis of Port Harcourt, adding that all contracts awarded by the administration strictly complied with the Public Procurement Laws of the state.
“You see, why I am excited working with Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, is that, follow through, since he came onboard: show me one promise he made that he has not kept?
I was the Commissioner for Information and Communications when we flagged-off the three flyover projects, and it was to be delivered in 16 months. If you go to my Facebook wall, people were saying how can this thing be?
“It’s just like that man in the Bible you know, when the Prophet said, by this time tomorrow, food will be all over Samaria, and the man said it’s not possible even though God opens everywhere. That’s what people were saying. But today, all of them are completed within schedule.
“It is uncommon in politics; it is uncommon in the governance of Nigeria. What people do, we have seen previous administrations here leave behind white-elephant projects. Governor Nyesom Wike’s love for Rivers State is genuine, and he keeps repeating it by saying, ‘I will not leave any abandoned project for whoever that will succeed me’.”
He emphasised that it is the vision of Governor Wike to make Rivers State an investor’s destination of choice, “and of course, that’s why our campaign ‘Our State Our Responsibility’: We are trying to make everybody who lives and does business in Rivers State to understand that we have a shared prosperity to protect.
“Governor Wike is giving us the roadmap. He is giving us the roadmap on daily basis to achieve a Rivers State of our dream. A lot of people in other states desire to have Governor Wike govern their state on loan for just six months because what they see happening under this Covid-19 baffles them. What is the magic wand? Vision, prudent management of resources, and that determination to build a Rivers State that all of us will be proud of,” Nsirim said.