Amaechi renders account of his stewardship

By George Onah
Port Harcourt—Rivers State government has received over N569 billion from various sources and spent over N503 billion on both current and capital expenditure in the last two years, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has said.

Amaechi disclosed in Port Harcourt, Monday, while giving account of his stewardship since he assumed office two years ago, stating that there was also over $63 million in Paris Club refund.
In the breakdown he said, out of the money generated, the government spent N147. 5 billion on recurrent expenditure, while about N358.2 billion was on capital expenditure, stating that the government raked in over N400 million monthly from left over of salaries of the workforce.
He said the government was losing N400 million every month to ghost workers before he assumed office, adding that the automation of the system brought about the savings.
As part of the savings too, he explained that about $63 million had been saved for the state in Sky Bank, and another N63 million in First Bank, while N17billion is being saved from monthly deductions of one billion naira and that the money would not be tampered with any day.
However, he said the $63 million was for the construction of the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital “which promises to be the best in Africa and beyond”.
He disclosed that workers were not being owed salaries, adding that primary school teachers’ salaries were being paid by the state government.
In other areas, he said mosquitoes would be eradicated from Rivers State soon for a fee of $12 million, disclosing that the entire state would be sprayed by a chemical which kills mosquitoes.
Amaechi said the factory of the insecticide would be built in Rivers State by the Cuban manufacturers, stating that the chemical was being currently used in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
He pointed out that a big problem of mother and infant mortality, through mosquito bite, was being solved in this direction.
He warned that the use of siren by other road users, apart from the governor and his deputy, would soon be outlawed, stating that “even my wife cannot use siren when the law comes into effect and I don’t even know why I should use siren as a governor”.
The governor said waterfronts in the state would be demolished irrespective of the barrage of blackmail carried out by a section of the state, insisting that criminals inhabit the waterfronts and must be chased out.