By Florence Uwaeme
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has inaugurated the 10th Rivers State Assembly at the hallowed chambers of the Legislative Complex, Port Harcourt.
The governor cited section 105, subsection 3 of the constitution of the Federal Republic 1999 as amended, which conferred on him the powers to dissolve the previous assembly (in this case, the 9th) and simultaneously proclaim the 10th, which will begin by electing principal officers of the house.
“My duty this morning is officially to dissolve the 9th assembly and inaugurate the 10th assembly so you can commence your first session.
Fubara proclaimed thus: “Whereas it is provided in section 105, subsection 3 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 constitution as amended that the person elected as the governor shall have the power to proclaim the holding of the first session of the state assembly immediately after being sworn in.
“Therefore, I, Siminalayi Fubara, Governor of Rivers State, in the exercise of the powers bestowed upon me by section 105 subsection three as aforesaid, and of all other capabilities enabling me on that behalf, hereby proclaim that the first session of the 10th Rivers State Assembly holds at 10:00 am on this day, Monday, June 5, 2023, in the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex, Port Harcourt.
Also, Governor Fubara paid an unscheduled visit to the ongoing construction of the convocation arena at the University of Port Harcourt.
After inspecting the massive facility being built by the Rivers State Government, Gov. Fubara noted that the project is dear to the government because of its importance to education and youth development.
He charged the contractor handling the project to match words with action by completing the project within the next sixty days as promised, warning that failure to deliver would attract consequences.
Gov. Fubara used the opportunity to warn other contractors handling state government projects to step up their work as he would not condone any delay but would expect prompt delivery on projects.
“From what I see here, the contractor is also assuring that in 60 days, he can deliver. We will give him the benefit of the doubt. But I need to say clearly that if in 60 days, I visit this project, I don’t see it completed, it’s not easy for the contractor, that’s the truth.”
“But I believe from what I have seen the extent of the job that they are doing. I think they’re a bit serious compared to what we saw about two months ago.”
“The reason why this project is important to us is this: It has to do with education and youths. You can’t separate education from the youth, and one of the objectives of our projects is the development of the youth and advancement of education. So, our coming here is to see it, assess it ourselves and not only from the reports from the ministry but for me to see it.”
“It is not business as usual. I met with them the other day and told them that even though this contract is not new, it does not mean that you go home and sleep. You can see that I’m a very punctual person. If I give you 9:0 clock, it will be 9:0 clock. So, my word to the contractor today is that you’ve assured me that in 60 days, you will deliver. There will be serious consequences if I come here by 60 days from today and this job is not ready”, he concluded.
