Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on Wednesday, presented the scorecard of his administration in the past one year, stating that a series of challenges confronted him months after mounting the saddle, but the worst was over.
He observed that a lot had changed in the political landscape after he took the oath of office exactly one year ago, saying that notwithstanding the challenges, his government had remained committed to the covenant he made to put Rivers State first, defend her interest, and ensure that the people got the dividends of democracy and good governance.
During the presentation of the scorecard, part of the activities marking his one-year anniversary, Fubara said, “We started this journey with a bang. We were focused. We were determined to make the change we promised with a sense of urgency.
“But then, somehow, we suddenly found ourselves in the cesspit of crisis barely three months into our tenure. It was not just an ordinary political crisis. It was a vicious existential crisis. But thank goodness, the worst is over. We have successfully defended our right and opportunity to govern our state and advance its progress in freedom, and we will continue to prevail”.
Governor Fubara explained the reasons behind the presentation, stating, “For us, any government worth its name must be accountable, responsive, and responsible for the security and well-being of the people. Having managed the affairs of our state for one year, including dispensing public resources, it is only proper that we render account with a public presentation of performance record.
“I am therefore pleased to stand before you to present our Scorecard for the first year we have been in office as the executive arm of the government of Rivers State.
“Recall that we promised to deliver to our people our core priorities of economic growth, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and agriculture, as contained in our blueprint for building a virile, resilient, and progressive State that caters to the needs of the people.
“Today, I am proud to report that, despite the unprecedented challenges, our first year was marked by significant achievements we can all see and attest to”.
He announced that from the onset, he inherited 34 uncompleted road projects worth over N225.279 billion spread across 13 local government areas of the state, adding that his vision was to see the day “when all Rivers State will be interconnected by roads and bridges, which only the government can make possible in partnership with the private sector and our development partners”.
He added that aside from the inherited uncompleted road projects, his government had gone ahead to initiate the construction of 9 new road projects of its own worth N534.332 billion. Prominent among them are Port Harcourt dual-carriage Ring Road; Ndoni junction-Onita Creek link road in Onelga, Umuakali–Eberi road in Omuma LGA and the Trans-Kalabari road.
“I wish to emphasize that with a combined cost of 528.6 billion naira, the 50.15 kilometres Port Harcourt dual-carriage Ring Road, the dualization of Elele-Egbeda-Omoku road and the Trans-Kalabari road projects are the three most ambitious road projects ever carried out by any Governor in Rivers State.
“It is also necessary to reiterate that only the Port Harcourt Ring Road is being funded with borrowed funds. The Elele-Egbeda-Omoku road and the Trans-Kalabari road are being funded from accumulated savings from our much-improved IGR and other revenue receipts.”
He assured that he was determined to complete these ambitious road projects within the lifespan of this administration “to advance interconnectivity across the state, enhance movements of goods and services, and accelerate the socio-economic development of the impacted communities and the entire state in general.
“It is also pertinent to note that the funding of these road projects has not deeply affected the government’s capacity to deliver other projects and services to the state and our people.”
On education, the governor hinted that tens of billions of naira have been expended on completion of the several inherited uncompleted projects and new ones at the various levels of the educational system in the state.
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The projects, according to him, include reconstruction and rehabilitation of some secondary schools, completion of convocation arena at the University of Port Harcourt, payment of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and National Examination Council, and provision of textbooks, among others.
He stated that his government’s commitment to advancing the health, safety and well-being of all residents cannot be over-emphasized. “It is for this reason that we made healthcare delivery a priority focus of our administration, and deployed funds towards realizing this fundamental objective.
“Finally, we approved the implementation of the reviewed consolidated salary scheme for medical doctors and the recruitment of 1000 medical personnel into the medical services of the state.
On economic growth and security, Fubara stated; “We inherited a state, whose economy had remained on a declining trajectory despite its growth potential, and we needed to change this negative narrative for the better.
“We also needed to attract investments into the state and increase our internally generated revenue base as too much reliance on federal allocations was a challenge to the realization of our development goals. We therefore set up an IGR/Investment Advisory Committee, which is helping us to navigate our course for increased economic investments and internally generated revenues to accelerate economic growth, create jobs and advance the welfare and well-being of our people.
“One year down the line and we believe we are succeeding. Our internally generated revenue witnessed an astronomical increase from N12 billion naira to between N17 billion naira in off-peak periods and N28 billion naira during the peak months.
“We prioritized the security of lives and property by supporting the security agencies to do what they know how to do best.
“Our commitment and strategies on safety and security are yielding the desired results with lower crime rates reported in our homes, offices, communities, and neighbourhoods.
“Our liberalized business-friendly economic policies and programmes are boosting confidence and attracting local and international investors and investments into the State judging by the expression of interest offers we receive every month.
“We have kept our taxes low, frozen the imposing of taxes on small businesses across the state, and increased the ease of doing business in the state by eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks. No request for the signing of a certificate of occupancy remains in my office beyond two days, except if I am otherwise engaged beyond two days or out of town”.
Continuing, Rivers governor said looking back, his government has put the state first and getting things done for everyone, and that he was as excited as everyone by what his administration had achieved in the last year of hard work, commitment, and determination.
