Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that the state is nobody's enterprise as his administration works to boost the economy and Infrastructural development of the state.
This is as the feud between him (Fubara) and his estranged godfather, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, degenerated further at the weekend.
Recall that Wike had during a civic reception organised for him by a group, Rivers Ijaw Peoples Congress, in Port Harcourt, mocked Fubara for supporting Action Peoples Party (APP), which he described as a lesser party than the PDP.
Wike, the immediate past governor of the state, affirmed that he determined how the PDP structure works in the state, adding that all the ongoing projects in the state were initiated by him.
In a swift response, Fubara who faulted the claims, added that those antagonising his administration were merely expressing frustration at seeing how firmly the affairs of the state had been conducted.
Fubara spoke at an inter-denominational church thanksgiving service organised as part of activities marking the 64th Independence Day celebration of Nigeria at St. Paul’s Cathedral of the Anglican Church, in Port Harcourt.
Fubara said, “I can’t be a party to oppressing anybody. And for the fact that I can’t be a party to oppress anybody, by the special grace of God, nobody can oppress me. Please, we need to join hands together to sustain and develop our state.
“So, don’t be scared of anything, we have gone past the most difficult stage. A few of our decisions might not be favourable but we have to move on as a family.
“At this time, what is important is to protect the soul of this state. It does not belong to anyone. Rivers State is nobody’s enterprise. So, you have to stand strong and fight.”
The governor accused his political foes of being determined to lay hold on the soul of Rivers State to control it as their personal estate, insisting that his administration had taken charge of the state already to secure, saying it is commonly owned by all Rivers people.
Correcting the wrong narrative about his administration, Fubara explained that he signed the contractual sum of N200 billion loan papers from Zenith Bank to fund the construction of the 50.15-kilometre dual carriageway Port Harcourt Ring Road, a project started by his administration.
He also stated that his administration was embarking on the construction of the actual Trans-Kalabari Road project worth N225.1 billion, plus the General Hospitals, together with the Psychiatric Hospital in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, among others.
The governor added that the projects were being funded without borrowing.
He said, “They even say, they don’t know what we are doing. Let me remind them, it is Fubara that signed the paper to borrow from Zenith Bank the N200 billion for the construction of the Port Harcourt Ring Road. So, it is my project.
“It is Fubara that awarded the Trans-Kalabari Road that they couldn’t do. They did only a bridge from Krakrama, but I am the one doing it: the complete span, and it is N225billion. I didn’t borrow.
“It is this same Fubara that is building a General Hospital, which I also included a Psychiatric Hospital because they will need it very soon. So, tell them that what I did in one year is what they did in eight years."