AC Developing Rivers State Through Unity Govt.
When late last year the Rivers State Action Congress (AC) leader and the
gubernatorial candidate in 2007 elections, Eng. Tonye Princewill joined
the Unity Government of Rivers State after October 25 the now Governor
Chibuike Amaechi won his mandate in the court, I was among the many
political observers in the state who raised eyebrow and were watching
where Princewill was heading with the romance of a PDP controlled state.
But after moments of observations of Princewill with the view that he was
going to betray his party, rather his union with the PDP-led government is
making the AC in the state stronger and fame than it was.
Today, the Unity approach to government in the state is quite a unique one
in the brand of politics we practice today in Nigeria. There are
commissioners from the opposition AC serving in the government of Rivers
State.
Princewill had said: “Although my version of fair would have seen a much
greater level of participation from the opposition, we have to start with
what we have and reach out for more”.
In his belief, Princewill affirms that the two commissioners and a special
adviser in the government are a start. Hear him: “None of these
commissioners or Special adviser will leave opposition nor will they stop
fighting for their party whether it is in terms of empowerment, elections
or employment. Proper dispensation of justice sees these opposition
numbers increase with the influence eventually spreading into other areas
of public and private investment”.
Princewill who saw the governor’s job as once an easy one had confessed
once in a press briefing in Port Harcourt recently that the time he has
spent with Governor Amaechi has shown that the job is a lot harder than he
had ruminated. That is to say that Amaechi is really doing his best to
lift the state up from the political gulag it was.
With the presence of AC in the state, Silverbird is investing over 20
billion in a 10 screen cinema, shopping mall, five star hotel with an
aquarium lobby, international conference center and children’s theme park
in the heart of Port Harcourt with some services starting as early as
December 2007.
In another angle, Clinotech is building a state of the art 21 storey mega
hospital with over 30 billion in a mother and children’s hospital and
another 18 billion into the construction of a state of the art
international market strictly for world-class goods and services.
Princewill being a partner in the state government, billions are just half
of the story. Because, many other smaller investors are pouring into the
state. As the AC leader in the state, Princewill with his acceptance of
the unity government after consultation with the AC national level has
brought in Americans, the French, Canadians, Turks, Brits and Trinidadians
in Rivers State, in the past few months.
Written by Odimegwu Onwumere
Odimegwu Onwumere, a poet and author, is the founder, Poet Against Child
Abuse (PACA), Oyigbo, Rivers State. apoet25@yahoo.com