By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
Although constructing good, beautiful roads is good, they will only be useful if people are alive to use and appreciate them. This is the view of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, as he again revealed his plan to empower the people of the state with social welfare packages.
Governor Wike restated this today (Wednesday) while speaking during the commissioning of Mgbuoshimini-Rumuolumini Road.
He said having concentrated on building developmental projects in the state since assuming office in 2015, time had come for him to empower Rivers people financially.
He said: “We have done road but there’s still hunger, is it not? We have come now for stomach infrastructure. We have come now for social welfare.
“And so from now henceforth, what we will now be doing is to put money in our hands so that we can feed and eat and use the road because it’s only a living person that will use road; dead people will not use the roads.”
Governor Wike said in other developed countries, the government establishes welfare schemes for their citizens as a way of helping them.
He promised to float such a scheme for Rivers citizens soon.
“So, all over the world, government is entitled to create some welfare scheme for their citizens and that is what we’re going to do now.
“Having done roads, having done schools, having done this, the major thing is this stomach,” Wike said.
The Rivers Governor also made the same statement during the commissioning of the Oro-Abali Flyover yesterday (Tuesday) when he promised to embark on stomach infrastructure by empowering Rivers people financially.
He had said: “Now that we have done virtually everything we have promised the people of Rivers State, this is the time now we have to play politics of stomach infrastructure.
“People think when you are in government, from that first day, you will start sharing money. I said I won’t do that; I have to work for the the people of the state.
“Now that we have worked, the remaining period is to fill your stomach. Stomach infrastructure is very important in governance because when Julius Berger goes, all these beautiful roads, and there’s nothing in the stomach of the people, they won’t be happy.
“So, having provided the physical infrastructure that we’re seeing, then we go to the one we’re not seeing, which is inside the stomach.
“We have to start to empower our people now. Every local government, every community, has to work out how we’re going to empower our people, because empowerment is relevant in governance.”
Meanwhile, some residents of Port Harcourt have hailed Governor Wike’s promise to empower the people of Rivers financially.
They however advised that the social welfare programme should not be used as a tool to play politics.
“It is a good idea that the governor is coming up with to empower the people because people are really suffering. But they should please not make
it a political thing where only PDP members will be the ones to benefit.
Governor is for every Rivers person and the money is Rivers money, so they should make it to reach ever person,” Michael Tambari, a trader a shop owner along Iwofe Road, told our correspondent.
The Mgbuoshimini-Rumuolumini Road was commissioned by the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri.
