Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has stated that the<\/p>\n
under-developed nature of states across the country remain traceable to
\nan overbearing Federal Government that has dysfunctional federal
\norganisations that slow down the pace of development.<\/p>\n
He said that State Governors should no longer be addressed as Chief
\nSecurity Officers, but mere Chief Logistic Officers who only provide
\nlogistics for Federal Security agencies.<\/p>\n
Addressing the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 9 at the
\nInstitute of Security Service (ISS), Abuja on Wednesday, Governor Wike
\nsaid : “The federal government is simply too overbearing with
\ntoo much powers and resources at its disposal. We know the recurrent
\nrifts between the Federal Government and the States
\noverdevelopment issues, including revenue sharing, resource
\ncontrol, excesscrude oil account, appointments into federal agencies and
\narbitrary location or withdrawal of federally-funded projects.”<\/p>\n
In his paper titled: “Institutional weaknesses and challenges of
\ndevelopment in Rivers State, ” the governor argued that Federal
\nGovernment agencies have been turned against state and local governments
\nas they merely constitute themselves into a stumbling block as they
\ndeliberately embark on unconstitutional activities that stall
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
He said that Rivers State has been at the receiving end of the
\nfailures of Federal institutions as no new projects have been instituted
\nin the state by the Federal Government for years.<\/p>\n
The governor stated : “Given its contributions to national
\ndevelopment, Rivers State deserves a special status and
\nconsideration from the Federal Government, but it is not.<\/p>\n
“Rather, the State has suffered sustained neglect,
\nmarginalization and injustice from successive federal governments and
\nits agencies. Even as no new development project has been initiated in the
\nState for decades, what is most distressing is failure of the Federal
\nGovernment to adequately maintain some of the critical federal
\ninfrastructure in the State.”<\/p>\n
He noted that the centralization of security and the poor use of the
\nsecurity agencies have negatively impacted on the development of Rivers
\nState, with several anti-people measures instituted to work against the
\npeace of the state.<\/p>\n
He said : “Developments in Rivers State in the last few months point to
\nthe capture of the State\u2019s security system by some special interest groups
\nin their attempt to overawe the State Government and achieve their
\npolitical agenda.<\/p>\n
“Thus,frequent transfer of the CP and other Director of the State Security
\nServiceshas become a norm. I am presently working with the 5th
\nCommissioner ofPolice since I assumed office barely a year ago. Indeed,
\nthings have gone so<\/p>\n
bizarre that senior officers who had had political brushes with me now
\nheadevery sensitive police formation in the State.”<\/p>\n
Governor Wike reiterated that the manipulation of the electoral process
\nby INEC has become extremely worrisome, with the state denied
\nrepresentation at the National Assembly while the State House of Assembly
\nhas not been fully constituted.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the most shocking is Tai Local Government Area
\nwhere INEC has plotted to sneak in concocted results for cancelled polls.<\/p>\n
“The failure to conclude the re-run elections in Rivers State is
\na distraction, which is a development cost the State Government is paying
\nonaccount of INEC\u2019s institutional weaknesses and inefficiencies”, he said.<\/p>\n
The governor added that despite the Federal stumbling blocks to
\ndevelopment, his administration has ensured that Rivers people enjoyed
\ngood governance and development.<\/p>\n
He said that the state judiciary which was crippled by the immediate
\npast administration has been revived , made more functional and
\nindependent. The governor stated that the House of Assembly enjoys
\nindependence while the hitherto moribund civil service has been revived.<\/p>\n
The governor called for reforms of relevant Federal and State
\ninstitutions to ensure that the contribute to development rather than
\nimpede it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has stated that the under-developed nature of states across the country remain traceable to an overbearing Federal Government that has dysfunctional federal organisations that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n