PRESS STATEMENT
100 DAYS OF POLITICAL RHETORICS WITHOUT SOLID ACTION IN RIVERS STATE ~ RIVERS APC
The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) wish to react to some of the bogus claims and promises without empirical evidences accompanied by timelines to deliver on such promises that Gov Siminalayi Fubara is churning out to mark his 100 days in office.
We commend the government for responding to our calls to mitigate the embarrassing sanitary condition of the state secretariat complex within his first 100 days in office, it is absolute falsehood to claim that the state’s free WAEC/NECO policy achieved a 100% success given the fact that school Principals were caught with evidence of extorting parents on same subject matter.
The corrupt tendencies of Government officials stationed at the Ministry of Education who shamelessly trade in distributing postings for WAEC/NECO exams’ supervision while compelling school Principals to make returns on these external exams has remained one of the “consolidated” achievements of Gov Fubara’s administration.
While it is true that government is continuum, the unveiling of luxury buses purchased by the Rotimi Amaechi administration as part of the state’s palliatory measures to cushion the effect of removal of subsidy from the price of petrol, should not have gone without giving credit to the Amaechi administration. Again, it is abundantly clear to residents of Port Harcourt City and environs that the state must have to do more to tackle the sufferings of ordinary citizens in the hands of shylock transport operators as the cost of transportation within Rivers State, is outrageously exhorbitant and wipes away the meagre monthly salaries of an average civil servant or middle class family.
On the promotion of civil servants, payment of gratuities and pensions in the state, we dare say that besides the very recent additions made to salaries of workers on the payroll of the UBE, their colleagues in the Senior Secondary Schools Board have neither been promoted for close to a decade nor received salary raise in the years earlier quoted. Payment of gratuities and pensions have become prayer points for our people who served the state meritoriously, as we have received several complaints of demands for kickbacks based on percentages from would-be beneficiaries from government offices responsible for handling gratuities/pensions.
Rivers APC finds it unjustifiable for the state government to be calling on public spirited individuals/NGOs to donate materials to support the state’s Intergovernmental Flood Management Committee when infact, the state government has refused to be open or transparent in accounting for the billions of naira donated to the state in cash and materials during the COVID-19 pandemic era.
Our party has always canvassed that the state moves away quickly from the era of engaging in the bazaar of donating scarce resources on unsolicited charities in favour of state governments and private organisations, we therefore invite Rivers people to note that our previous calls have today been justified since Gov Fubara is now begging for support from individuals and NGOs.
Our party believes an Enterprise Fund in partnership with the BoI is a noble idea, but, the critical state of poverty amongst the youth in the state coupled with the long years of planlessness by government for the future of these youths, demands that mobilizing funds in the range of #10billion and not #4billion naira should be most appropriate. Our money should actually be channeled where our mouth is and our youths are our tomorrow!
Rivers APC believes activating a Youth Entrepreneurship Development Trust Fund and an Investment Promotion Agency should have taken far more priority than a #200billion naira Port Harcourt Ring Road for a state that is amongst the first five on the list of states with the biggest unemployment figures in Nigeria.
Finally, we still have not been convinced at the scientific logic behind the Port Harcourt Ring Road project given the fact that Rivers residents and people have not been educated on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of such a project that will surely come with a health and social impact on the lives of the people. This is besides the fact that Tender Notice(s) for this project was not advertised on national dailies in keeping with the Procurement Act.
Signed:
Darlington Nwauju
Rivers State APC Spokesperson
6th September 2023
