Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has revealed that the decision of his administration to stop the operations of all illegal motor parks and street trading, which he said has marred the face of Port Harcourt city.
He said this on Thursday during an inspection of Rumuola, GRA junction, Orochiri/Wurukwo and Oru-Abali flyovers.
“We have taken a decision that we are going to barricade off and stop operations of all the unnecessary motor parks that are springing up.
“We want to make sure that people know that they cannot just wake up in the morning and decide to take government space and use it as your private park.”
According to him, the activities do not speak of a well of the State investing huge resources to enhance the status of its capital and improve commerce.
Wike added that businesses that refuse to keep their surroundings clean would be sealed off. This, he said, is due to the carefree attitude displayed by the public towards sanitation.
He stressed that the state would be cleaner if business owners do not litter their premises and discourage others from doing so.
“Those at Aba Road axis of the Rumuola area will be the first victims. Thereafter, others will follow, so that people will know that government is very serious.
“So, all those who litter refuse and operate motor parks will have themselves to blame. This is not the time people will tell you that the economy is hard. If the economy is hard, does it mean that you’ll sell your goods and litter the places with the refuse?”
The governor harped on the commitment of his administration to continue to work for the benefit of the state and the people by providing quality infrastructure and good governance as he explained that it is in honour of the social contract reached with Rivers’ people since 2015.
“For us, we owe them that duty to make sure that the mandate they’ve given to us will not be taken for granted. That is why all the members of our team are working, trying to make sure that we satisfy the yearnings of our people.”
The governor asserted that with commitment and passion, there is nothing any sincere government cannot accomplish in providing basic infrastructure that can bring about the necessary transformation of the lives of the people.
