The Rivers State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN recently scored Governor Chibuke Amaechi low in its assessment of the administration’s first 100 days in office. The Governor’s spokesman, however, sharply disagrees as he points at what he describes as the facts on ground and the fiction of the assessments. Excerpts:

The ACN in Rivers State has scored Governor Amaechi poor in its assessment of the first 100 days of his second term. Do you agree?

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 PHCN. And Governor Amaechi has said it 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 and pours everyday you can see how unrealistic and puerile their criticisms are.

david Iyofor

They just criticize for the sake of it; make noise but Rivers people know better. They know that Governor Amaechi is doing his 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.

So, what would you consider as the achievements of the first 100 days?

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 and health 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 NGF.

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 investments 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.

So, what programmes, projects and policies are being consolidated on?

Like I said earlier, more Primary and secondary schools are being completed; and you know the kind of schools we are building, nothing like it anywhere in the country. So the Governor is consolidating on all projects from his first term in office, ranging from roads, infrastructure, education, health, power, agriculture, water and other projects.

The free education is also being consolidated upon as well as that of free Healthcare, all with the best facilities and in the most conducive environment. Security is also top notch considering additional plans by the Governor to commence helicopter aerial surveillance of the State soon.

The Ogoni-Opobo-Andoni Unity road is also on the agenda and construction work has continued. The Governor’s vision of connecting all areas of the State by road is unwavering with all the bridges being built. Like the governor has said, just wait and see. The potentials of this administration are enormous and Rivers State and its people are going to be the better for it.

When do you think most of these projects 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 where 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.