Date Published: 01/04/10

No excuses this year, Amaechi tells commissioners

* Charges Ogoni on unity

ALL cadres of public functionaries in Rivers State have been told to get ready to deliver tangible dividend of democracy to the citizens or brace to face the bullets.

Governor Chibuike Amaechi read out the riot act to the public functionaries as his new year message to them just as he also warned the Ogoni people to sink their differences in order to attract development to their communities.

 Those affected by Amaechi's riot act are  commissioners and heads of ministerial and inter-ministerial departments in the state. The governor said he will not take any excuses this year for non-performance from any government officials.

He was speaking at the opening of the first Inter-Ministerial meeting of the state this year, at Government House, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday. Governor Amaechi, declared that he will not also give excuses as well for failure to deliver on his promises to the people.

He called on the people of Ogoni, the kinsmen of then late Ken Saro-Wiwa, to unite and forge a common front in the quest for the development of the area.

Amaechi, who made the call on Monday while addressing the 18 th Annual Ogoni Day celebration in Bori, Headquarters of Khana Local Government Area, said unity should be their watchword in achieving the gains of their struggle.

The governor advised them not to allow selfish politicians to cause disaffection among them, particularly now that the struggle was beginning to yield positive results, noting that the youths need to resist the temptation to be used by politicians to achieve their aim.

He assured the people that his administration would continue to be accountable by utilizing state funds to deliver services to the people, and apologized to the Ogoni people for the state government’s inability to provide them electricity before December 2009.

The governor said he has always identified with the Ogoni struggle because of its non-violent approach and had many years ago immortalized the late Environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa, by naming a building he built at Uniport after him, adding that as Governor, he has now renamed Stadium Road to Ken Saro Wiwa Road.

He thanked the MOSOP leadership and the entire Ogoni people for honouring him with an award, emphasizing that he does not love such recognitions but accepted theirs to prove his love for their non-violent struggle.

Governor Amaechi, who also represented Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, said he identifies with the non violent struggle of the Ogoni people, and enjoined them to sustain the peace for the betterment of the area and the country at large.

On his part, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Ufot Ekaette, said the Ogoni people has remained at the forefront of non-violent struggle in Nigeria and the approach has began to yield results.

Chief Ekaette therefore urged MOSOP to continue with the peaceful attitude for the overall interest of the people of the area and the Niger Delta region, stressing that the federal government established the Niger Delta Ministry and offered amnesty to militants to fast tract the development of the area.

The Minister said the East-West road project was progressing more in the Ogoni axis than any other area because of the peaceful atmosphere provided the contractors, adding that the Ministry is giving priority to projects that cut across the region to ensure that all parts felt the impact of government.

In his address of welcome, the President of MOSOP, Mr. Ledum Mitee called on all authorities concerned to take advantage of the amnesty window to address the fundamentals to  the Ogoni and Niger Delta struggles, to prevent a re-occurrence of the sad past.

The MOSOP President, who said that the chances of actualizing the Ogoni demand for autonomy was significantly bright, stressed the need for the Ogonis to start leading the struggle of democratically determine who leads or represent them.

Mitee appealed to youths of Ogoni to shun the temptation of being used for election rigging and violence, adding that to demonstrate their preparedness for proper democratic representation “my votes must count campaign” would be launched in the area to mobilize the people to defend their votes during elections.

In his good will message the Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Mr Magnus Abe, an Ogoni, lauded Governor Amaechi for embarking on projects in Ogoniland and thanked MOSOP for keeping the memory alive and urged the Ogonis to be united among themselves.

The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Andrew Uchendu, said the philosophy of MOSOP was in the blood of every Ogoni person and challenged the people to learn lessons from Ken Saro-Wiwa’s life by doing the best for their people.

Highpoint of the event was the presentation of awards to deserving indigenes of Ogoniland, including Rivers State Governor Amaechi..

Meanwhile, on the wake up call on public office holders, the governor said he has already directed that funds be released from the state’s savings and deplored to offset on-going construction works so that contractors that have achieved milestone are paid.

“Please release funds from our savings, not the compulsory N1 billion savings funds but from other savings so that contractors are made to complete all outstanding projects”, he said.

The governor told the officials that all on-going projects must be completed this year, to pave way for the initiation of more and new projects for the people of the state..

He warned that he would not take it lightly with any official who does not manage or deploy funds appropriately, adding that “this is not the time to play or misappropriate funds; we must deliver on all projects to take our people out of poverty”.

The state inter-ministerial meetings had in attendance all Commissioners, Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries, Local Government Chairmen, as well as Heads of all agencies, and Departments of Government.