Rivers State Governor; Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that one of the
\ngreatest achievements of his administration is the elimination of the
\nupland\/riverine dichotomy which plagued the state in the past.<\/p>\n
Speaking during an interview with the organisers of Zik Leadership Prize
\nAward, Governor Wike said that his administration has been able to promote
\nunity for the overall development of the state.<\/p>\n
He said: ‘First of all, you remember that the founding fathers of this
\nstate maintained that Rivers state should be seen as a place or land of
\nopportunity where people will have to achieve their potentials in life. In
\nthis state before, all you see, all you hear is tribalism; that you are
\nfrom the upland, you are from the riverine and so people were not doing
\nthings as if we are one Rivers.<\/p>\n
“So, we believe that, one way we must achieve, if we see ourselves as one
\nand once that is done, then we have moved to the next step. So today, our
\nconcern is that issue of upland\/riverine is no longer necessary. We see
\nourselves as one Rivers state and it is necessary because of the projects
\nand programmes we are carrying out in all the local government areas in
\nthe state. So the issue of upland\/riverine differences is relegated to the
\nbackground.<\/p>\n
“There are projects going on every where in the state and if you don’t do
\nthat people will begin to say of favouritism against each other that we
\nare this, we are that, and vice versa. Therefore, the issue is to bring
\neverybody together.”<\/p>\n
Governor Wike noted that Rivers State has made tremendous progress in the
\nlast three years because project execution has been prioritised.<\/p>\n
“We have to move and that is why today, most people are beginning to have
\nhope and they are happy also that Rivers state is moving, it is no longer
\nstagnated as it used to be. We have moved from point A to point B.<\/p>\n
“Our concern is to make sure that we use the economic potentials of the
\nstate for the greater interest of our people by turning around what we
\nhave from what we use to have.”, he said.<\/p>\n
The governor said that his administration is committed to making sure
\nthat Rivers state takes her rightful position in the comity of states in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
He said a trip round the states of Nigeria under the present dispensation
\nreveals that Rivers State under his watch is one of the leading centres of
\nrapid growth.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike said that he inherited a collapsed infrastructure and
\ndamaged governance structure, hence the decision to prioritise projects
\nexecution for optimum output.<\/p>\n
He said: “The idea of I started this project without completion amounts to
\nbad governance. My administration has taken the step by completing all
\nabandoned and uncompleted projects. When such projects are fully completed
\nand those that left them uncompleted, who did not handover properly to me
\nwill turn around to claim 95% completion of such a project. How can a
\nproject left at 95% completion take 3-years to complete, isn’t it funny?<\/p>\n
“Our problem in Nigeria is that we initiate white elephant projects that
\nwe cannot complete. My administration has plans of building new schools
\nand also renovating old ones. That cannot be done at once but in phases
\nacross the three senatorial districts. Any project that we cannot fund, we
\nwould not venture to begin”.<\/p>\n
He stated that achievements in governance can only be made possible by
\ncommitment and passion, and not just the experience of the office holder.<\/p>\n
“But it goes beyond that and that is the passion and commitment, and that
\nis what has helped us to record some of the achievements that you have
\ntoday identified. So commitment and passion are key for any person in
\npublic office to make a mark or try to achieve some successes. So, for me,
\nit’s the passion and commitment and these are things that would aid in
\nrecording some milestone”, he said.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike added: “Like I said, part of the problems we’ve always been
\nhaving with all due respect is not being able to identify what you want to
\ndo. Planning to carry everything at the same time and at the end of the
\nday, you achieve nothing. So, for us, what was our focus when we came on
\nboard. The infrastructure was completely down, no road networks. So, how
\ncan you talk about bringing in investors to Rivers state when there are no
\nnetwork of road infrastructure. We fixed the infrastructure, beginning
\nwith the road network. If you look at the budget in our first year, it was
\ndedicated to works, bringing alive all decayed infrastructure in terms of
\nroad network. Having done that, we moved to another sector without
\ncarrying everything at the same time.<\/p>\n
“Remember, in May 27, 2015 precisely, my predecessor while having his
\nbirthday at Obi Wali International Conference Centre did say that he’ll
\nsee where the governor of the state would get money to pay salaries,
\ntalkless of carrying out projects. But to the glory of God, we are safe.”<\/p>\n
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is among nine prominent
\nNigerians who have won the 2017 Zik Prize Award. Governor Wike emerged the
\nwinner of the Zik Prize in Good Governance.<\/p>\n
Rivers State Governor; Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that one of the greatest achievements of his administration is the elimination of the upland\/riverine dichotomy which plagued the state in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n