– Demands FG presence in the State
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike made efforts on Monday to prove that the government of his State is not in contention with the Federal Government (FG), while demanding that his State needs the presence of the FG.
Speaking on Monday at a town hall meeting between the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and Rivers State Stakeholders at the Government House in Port Harcourt, Wike said “it is important for us to emphasize that the Government of Rivers State is not and cannot by any stretch of imagination be in contention with the Federal Government”.
“We stand for the unity, progress and indivisibility of this nation and part of our mandate is to partner with the Federal Government to move the State and by extension, the nation forward. We have severally demonstrated this commitment from the very beginning of our administration with discernible actions,” Wike added.
The Governor gave an instance of the rehabilitation of the East-West road from Eleme junction to Onne junction carried out by his government, which he said gulped about three billion naira, to buttress his point.
“Today, that part of the road, which leads to the economic heartland of the nation, including the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone is in good shape because of our singular efforts,” Wike said.
“Also, that Rivers State is least affected by the spate of attacks on oil pipelines and other facilities by militants is not by accident but by the deliberate and direct involvement of the State government in ensuring that these vital national economic infrastructure are protected and insulated from such ferocious attacks by the hoodlums,” the Governor added.
Furthermore, Wike stated that his State Government has spent and continues to spend a lot of money to support the security agencies to fight crime and safeguard lives and property in the State.
“Only recently, we spent over a million dollars to procure a sophisticated surveillance device for the use of the police and the DSS to facilitate the tracking and arrest of kidnappers as well as rescue of kidnap victims in the State.
“Regrettably, this equipment is stuck at the port because of the refusal of the federal Government to grant the waiver that is needed,” Wike submitted.
Governor Wike said despite the contributions of Rivers State to the resource base of the nation, it has been denied access to developmental projects.
He said, “Rivers State alone accounts for not less than a third of Nigeria’s earnings from the export of hydrocarbon resources, yet there is little or nothing to show for the State’s contributions to the national resource pool, which is being used on a massive scale to develop other parts of the country.
“Thus, the lack of tangible federal projects and development attention from the Federal Government are some of the underlying problems that must be addressed as quickly as possible to give our people a sense of belonging”.
The governor wondered why the Federal Government has refused to reciprocate the kind gestures of the Rivers State Government after all its positive investments.
He urged the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency tackle cases of underdevelopment in the state. He urged the Federal Government to tackle the East West road, rehabilitation of Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt and Onne Seaports and the completion of the Bodo-Bonny road.
He regretted the failure of the Federal Government to allow work to commence on the construction of the 7th train of the Nigeria LNG Project in Bonny Land.
The governor also appealed to the Federal Government to give life to the Ogoni cleanup project, which he said has remained dormant after it was flagged off.
Responding, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo assured the people of Rivers State that the Federal government will tackle their grievances.