Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has explained that his visit to the residential quarters of the State House of Assembly was to undertake on-the-spot assessment of the condition of the structures for possible rehabilitation work to restore their status and make them liveable.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nelson Chukwudi, and sent to newsmen on Thursday.
Fubara boasted that the Assembly quarters part of the state property under his control, adding that with the emergence of a new speaker, the facility would be given a facelift.
He said, “Are the assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there?
“You are aware of the developments. We have a new speaker, and I went there to see for myself how things are.
“There might be a few things I might want to do there for the good of our people.”
The governor, who took a walk around the facility, said that he decided to visit the place to get a better appreciation of what needs to be done to make the quarters conducive for lawmakers.
Commenting on the 15.24 kilometers-long Emohua – Abalama -Tema Junction dual carriageway road project, Fubara said he was assessing the extent of the job that had been done to know what else was needed in preparing the road for commissioning during his one-year anniversary.
He said, “As a matter of fact, we added this section of the road as one of the projects we will be commissioning.
“So, I needed to see it myself, and what is remaining is just the lighting. By the grace of God, we will commission it.”
The governor pointed out that the road project was inherited from the immediate past administration but a greater chunk of the cost was borne by his administration.
He said, “We feel justified to add it as our project and to commission it for the good of our people here.
“Governance is all about the people. When the people are out of the center of governance, then it is no longer governance.
“So, this road, as we all now know, was in a very bad state. A lot of criminal activities were being carried out here: kidnapping and all sorts of things. So, putting this road in order is appropriate.”
The governor further said, “You can see the little manhour we spent coming here. Before, it takes you 30 to 45 minutes to drive from Emohua to this place. But look at it, in less than 15 minutes we are here.
“So, it is about the people, the good of the people, making life easy for the people. That is the way I see governance. Anything outside that has nothing to do with me.
“It is not about me. It is not about glory to me as a person. I am just a vessel that God is using to provide succor to the good people of Rivers State, and more especially, our dear people of Kalabari extraction.”
The PUNCH reported that the pro-Fubara lawmakers on Wednesday elected the member representing Bonny Constituency, Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, as factional Speaker, while the member representing Ahead East, Hon.. Sokari Goodboy was elected factional House Leader.