Former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday said disunity was hampering Niger Delta’s development.

“I have never seen a region that hates itself like our region,” he said.

The former governor spoke at the construction launch of the 50.15km Port Harcourt Ring Road awarded to Julius Berger at N195 billion by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Wike stressed that citizens should be concerned about development rather than ethnicity.

He said: “All you hear is Ijaw, non-core Ijaw, Urhobo, non-Itsekiri, Oron, not Ibibio, Ikwerre not Etche. Nobody talks about the development in our region.”

Wike believes the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has failed.

Branding the commission as “Niger Delta Cash Cow”, the governor urged President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to change the narrative.

He said: “Ordinarily, these projects ought to be done by NDDC if it were a development commission. Unfortunately, what we have is a Niger Delta cash cow.

“If NDDC had carried out a project of this nature, you would wonder what the Niger Delta would have been.

“It is a cash cow and not a development commission. That is why today everybody is scampering to be the chairman of the NDDC.

“I believe Mr. President will change what we used to have as the cash cow to bring development to Niger Delta.”

Wike urged the NDDC to key into the ongoing ring road project by completing about 20km of it from Borokiri to Eleme.

He said the NDDC failed to pay its counterpart funds for the construction of the Eastern Bypass where its headquarters is situated, adding that his administration was compelled to pay all the N5 billion for the project.

The former governor advised Fubara to avoid the antics of some politicians, who will want to lure him to waste the state’s resources in developing a political party.

He told Fubara to stay away from sleeping in Abuja under the guise of attending meetings, saying nothing useful would come out of such gatherings.

He said: “The people that elected you are in the state and not in Abuja. Stay in your state and face the challenges of your people. Don’t allow them to lure you to be sleeping in Abuja. Nothing comes out of such meetings.

“Our money is not to develop any political party; it is to develop our state. They will be luring you because they think with Rivers money you will come to grow one party or the other. Stay here and work you will feel happy.”

The former governor, who was excited over the decision of Fubara to embark on such a mega project within one year of his inauguration, recalled that former Governor Rotimi Amaechi abandoned the project after allegedly raising N100 billion for it.

Saying that the ring road project underscored the importance of continuity and consolidation, Wike said his administration during his last executive council meeting concluded that his successor would execute the project.

He recalled that when Fubara emerged as the flag bearer of his party, some persons doubted his capacity to deliver citing his quiet mien.

The governor said: “The man (Fubara), who doesn’t talk has shown action. Before I left office, at the last executive council meeting which he attended with his deputy, the council approved that this ring road should be constructed by the next administration.

“We attended meetings in Germany three times to negotiate for the road. He has shown that he has the capacity and the will to carry out this project. This road has six flyovers and a bridge across the water.

“Some people in 2007 and 2008, there was a time in a month we got N100billion and that time I was the chief of staff, we said we were going to carry out the ring road.

“We put N100 billion in a bank for the road. Up till today, there is no ring road.

“Today a man has spent only a month in office and awarded a job of N195billion and he has paid N150billion.

“It is not ‘I will do’, it is ‘I am doing it’. The governor is justifying the mandate they gave to him. Mr. Governor, this is a legacy you may not understand. By the time the road is finished, everybody will be happy and you will go home happy”.

Wike promised to fight the political enemies of Fubara and asked him to remain focused on delivering on his development agenda.

He said: “We are here monitoring them (political enemies) and we will choke them. All we do is to appear when they look for your trouble.”

Fubara said the project, beyond connecting about six local government areas, would promote unity among Rivers people.

He assured the people that his administration beyond the road project would intervene in other sectors such as health, education and youth empowerment.

He said: “Today we are here to continue what we started when we signed the contract not a memorandum of understanding as being carried about. It was a contract with Julius Berger to construct the Port Harcourt ring road.

“We are here to put mortar and bricks to the contract signing. We want to tell you that we didn’t just sign it.

“We have paid for it and we are here to commence the journey. It is not about connecting Eleme to Etche, to Ikwerre but connecting our people.

“It will bring development to our state. We are talking about decongestant Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor. The project will bring new cities into Port Harcourt.”

“After this project, accessibility to the capital city will be easy. This is the development we are talking about.”

The governor promised to pay compensation to those affected by the project.

He said: “We will pay the required compensation. It is only when you want to sabotage us that we will swing the big hammer on you. We are not going to compromise; we don’t care who you are. We are going to deal with you squarely.

“The contractor has a reputation for quality jobs. Don’t fail us. I know that everybody will be happy after this project.

“I want to assure the people of Rivers it is not only the road that we will attend to. We will also look at other sectors such as health, education and youth empowerment.” (The Nation)

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