Lorine Emenike
Elders in Rivers State have resolved to reconcile the two political figures in the state, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and the Governor Nyesom Wike.
In a meeting convened by the Rivers Elders and Leadership Forum in Port Harcourt to discuss the way forward of the heightened insecurity and abnormalities experienced by residents and citizens in Rivers State, the state chairman of the forum Chief A.K Horsfall said that the forum will be writing letters of utmost concern to the state government, security agents in the state and relevant authorities to proffer solution and to also ensure that the state is conducive for all.
The former boss of the States Security Service said that governments should continue to build on unfinished projects of their predecessors instead of erasing or abandoning them. He explained that the lack of continuity of old projects of old government administrations by new government administrations will cost the state so much.
He said: “Lack of continuity cost us so much, people don’t appreciate that government is continuing machinery. You don’t suddenly get up to destroy, remove and erase what an earlier government has done. And I think, if that machinery was effective, then we should build on top of it not remove it. If they have some better machinery, you don’t have to throw away the earlier one, you build on top of it and make it better”
Continuing, chief A. K Horsfall said that the men of the Nigerian military are currently investigating the military involvement in the just concluded 2019 election.
He said that this investigation was as a result of the many protests by some Rivers citizens against the militarization of the just concluded election.
According to him: “The army came obtrusively and invaded the process regrettably and I think due to some of the protest we made, the military is still investigating what happened at that time in their own manner. I think when they are done, they will take action and punish somebody”
Chief A. K Horsfall also talked about the ongoing process to reconcile Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and Governor E. N. Wike. He said “we have started the process of reconciling the past governor Hon. Amaechi and the present governor E. N. Wike, one of them have reacted and one is yet to react. We will keep pressing them to make themselves available for us to talk to”
On his part, Dr Monday Levy Okonny, a major stakeholder of the forum said, “internally the Rivers people are agitated that in the midst of wealth, the poverty amongst the Rivers people is worst in the country. Fathers can’t pay their children’s school fees, they cannot take care of their wives, they cannot maintain anything. So most times they see this wealth from the oil industries in the hands of other people and this agitates them, something has to be done”
Continuing, Dr. Monday said one of the things that should be done to curb the killing and kidnapping along the Port Harcourt and Ahoada road is to light the road on both sides as well as the middle of the road, he said with lights illuminating on that axis of the road and other parts of the state it will curb crime in the state.
He said another thing that the state governor must do for the state in his second term in office is to ensure that he lights every part of Rivers State. He said Rivers people are not supposed to lack light supply because the gas that is used to supply gas is produced and flared here on our land”
He added “A lot of questions have been asked about the 13% derivation, how are we spending it? Is it getting to every ward and local government in the state? The other States have got committees where they disburse their derivation. In Rivers State nobody talks about it, we don’t know how it is been disbursed. There is no Rivers youth who is not angry about his condition, the poverty is so much. These boys can rip you apart to take whatsoever you have because they are hungry, so something has to be done about the poverty situation in Rivers State. The level of poverty in Rivers State is very high. The government should think of what to do so that at least the people can have some peace of mind and live like other people living in other areas of Nigeria”
