David Iyofor, is spokesman to Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. He spoke to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND’s CHIBUZO UKAIBE on the key grounds covered by the Amaechi administration as well as other topical issues. Excerpts:
How has the administration fared so far in the governor’s second term in office?
We have spent only 100 days in office and the governor has continued in his stride to give Rivers State and its people the best. The first thing the governor did was to thank the people for entrusting for another four years the leadership of the state to him and engaged them through various special interactive programmes and fora where he answered questions from Rivers people and talked about his plans for the next four years and the direction of the new administration. He also held a professionals stakeholders meeting where he evaluated issues concerning the state and sought ways to better achieve the administration’s goals.
Construction of roads, building of infrastructure, schools both primary and secondary schools, health centres and lots more are ongoing and in top gear. Pipe borne water is also being sent to areas in dire need of it as an intervention measure while our major holistic water provision project is underway. Proper management systems for the education and health facilities are being put in place. Last month, the international educational consultants that would manage the model secondary schools were in the state to see for themselves the schools on ground and the level of completion in the various sites. We are also working out modalities to perk up our environmental and urban development projects to make Port Harcourt clean, green and a true Garden City.
And in the last hundred days, we hosted lawyers here in Port Harcourt. The lawyers came, saw what Governor Amaechi is doing in Rivers State and has since then never stop talking, telling the world of the transformational administration of Governor Amaechi in Rivers State. And when this kind of praise and commendation is coming from a very critical, most times cynical professional body like the Nigeria Bar Association(NBA), you would agree with me that indeed, Governor Amaechi has done so much to transform Rivers State and the lives of Rivers people. In fact, the President of the Bar Association, J. B Daudu urged the Federal Government to build our kind of model secondary schools in every Local Government Area in the country. Nothing tells the Governor Amaechi transformational story in Rivers State better than that.
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More specifically, what are the achievements recorded within the first 100 days?
In summary, the core focus areas of Governor Amaechi’s administration are human and infrastructural development. You would recall that Governor Amaechi has always said that the next four years would be used to consolidate on the projects, programmes and policies of the first term more school, health and construction projects have been completed and delivered; more health programmes dispensed like the renewed fight against polio an initiative of the Nigerian Governors Forum spearheaded by Governor Amaechi who is also chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF). There is the power generation from the state’s power projects as Amaechi works towards getting the Federal Government to concession power distribution to the state to independently distribute and improve the electricity supply in the State.
The new Songhai Farm in Tai is blossoming and has employed its first set of workers and will continue to employ more. Plans are underway to employ more Rivers people as part of the governor’s plan to generate employment through agriculture and also be self-sufficient in food production. Preparations are also on for the commencement of the huge Banana plantation in the state which will attract investment from outside the country. Work has also continued on various major projects like the monorail, the flyover at Agip/Ikwerre Road, the interchange at Obiri-Ikwerre on the East West highway and a host of other projects. In the past one hundred days, we also successfully hosted the best National Sports Festival in some of the best sporting facilities in the country; and kudos must be given to our Deputy Governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru who successfully chaired and managed the local organising committee that was set up by Governor Amaechi to organise the Games.
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What are the underlying issues? There has been a lot of talk on the loan and proposed bond issuing by the Rivers State Government. What is the situation on that?
Governor Amaechi has explained all there is to the loan and bond. First, I’d like to state here that Rivers State has a solid credit rating and background and this has been affirmed by two renowned Global Financial Agencies, Fitch; and Standard and Poors. The only reason the state seeks these funds is to fast-track development and complete the gigantic projects that need immediate and massive funds injection. Waiting for the monthly federal allocation and our internally generated revenue would slow down the work, hence the need for the loan and bond. We have huge projects like the new ultra modern campus of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, the new Mega hospital, the monorail, the Greater Port Harcourt City, Monte@Rivers – an entertainment complex, the new M-10 Highway- a beltway that would connect the old city to the new city, from the seaport to the airport and so much more.
Such projects as these require huge funds injection. The loan would be serviced monthly as the State revenue comes in and as Governor Amaechi has assured, the loan could be repaid within the life span of his administration. Our projected earnings both from federal allocation and internally generated revenue is by far much more that the bond we want to issue and the loans we have taken or intend to take. As a matter of fact, the loan we took from one of the banks, we have gone very far in paying back just from our internally generated revenue. So paying back won’t be a problem at all. Governor Amaechi does intend to leave any huge debt burden behind when he leaves Government House in 2015. He is only interested in fast-tracking development in Rivers State. He wants to deliver on these projects as quickly as possible. And to be honest with you, we are amazed and shocked by the level of ignorance and complete lack of understanding of financial matters that have been expressed by the critics of this bond, especially the attacks from a so-called opposition party.
Maybe, they want to be seen as persistently attacking the Amaechi administration, but criticisms should be constructive, facts-based and not criticizing just to be seen as attacking the government of the day. Bonds are been issued regularly by state governments to fast-track development. Several States have issued bonds, including Lagos State with its huge revenue profile. Only recently Delta State announced that it will be going for a N100 billion bond issue.?? And am sure you have not heard the kind of noise you have heard in Rivers State about our intending bond issue in those states. Most of the critics of our bond are just trying to be mischievous; they are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. But Governor Amaechi have said consistently that he won’t be distracted, he will remain focused on doing what is best for Rivers State and Rivers people.????
When do you think most of the projects being consolidated on currently would be completed?
A lot of projects have been completed from the last tenure. Many of the Model Primary schools are in use, fully equipped to international standards. So many roads were completed too. As for the ongoing ones were construction work is either slowed or stalled, Governor Amaechi has again and again, urged residents of the State to be patient because this is due to the rains which in our part of the country pours non-stop, whenever it rains. In a year we have barely 4 months to effectively carry out construction work. And for our roads to be of quality standard, we can’t do much during the rains. If we carry out any major work under the rains, it could compromise quality and the roads may not last long. So we are working, and our projects would be completed. Governor Amaechi is not the kind that abandons projects; you can see that from the achievements of his first tenure.
In its appraisal of the first 100 days of Amaechi’s second term the opposition Action Congress Of Nigeria (ACN), scored him low and concluded that the state has close to nothing to celebrate. What’s your reaction?
That is a most erroneous thing to say about the Amaechi administration. That entire statement from ACN in Rivers State about Governor Amaechi’s 100 days in office is a luminous comedy of contradictions, replete with errors of unpardonable proportions. And I will give you one or two examples. ACN claims that the Amaechi administration has failed woefully in the provision of electricity, but even a child in Nigeria knows that providing electricity is a function of the federal government. And most people in the country know that Rivers independent power plants are generating power that cannot even be evacuated or distributed by the federal government’s own PHCN. And Governor Amaechi has appealed time and again that Rivers State should be allowed to distribute the power it generates from its state owned power plants.
And by the time we finish the power plants in Afam, we will have more than enough power to serve the state and even give to neigbouring states, but the problem will remain distribution which is still under the federal government unless it is concessioned to the state to distribute. So how can you now blame that on Governor Amaechi? ACN expects Governor Amaechi to start a project, say road for instance, and finish it within a 100 days, in the middle of the rainy season, where it rains everyday. You can see how unrealistic and puerile their criticisms are. They just criticize for the sake of it, make noise but Rivers people know better. They know that Governor Amaechi is doing is job as governor and taking the right decisions to develop the State while ACN is just making noise just to be noticed as an opposition party, and no one is buying that.