Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, has said the recent revelations that Rivers State got over N100 billion in five months from the federal government, showed that Governor Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike no longer has excuse for nonperformance.
This is as a group, the Inter-Ethnic Network for Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (INCRA), has called on Wike to explain how the state government spent the N34 billion it received from the federal government as part of the Paris Club refund.
Peterside, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, said excuses for non-performance has been the hallmark of the Wike-led administration in the state.
He stated that the latest admonition followed disclosure by the Federal Ministry of Finance that Rivers State got the highest amount of N34 billion from Paris Club refund, in addition to over N75 billion accruing the state from federal allocations in the past five months.
The NIMASA boss said, “The governor is busy brandishing projects executed by the immediate past administration and trying to claim credit for same. The first responsibility of a state governor is security of lives and property.
“Despite the huge revenues that have come the way of our state, Governor Wike is yet to understand that governance goes beyond carrying out a handful of projects. The will to ensure security of lives and property and provision of jobs for our teeming youth go hand in hand.
“Unemployment is on the rise and this is what is fueling criminality and crime in the state. Rivers youth have been abandoned to their fate with no clear policy to enable them achieve their aspirations.
“With the amount of money the governor has received in the last five months, in addition to over N100billion borrowed from banks, there is no reason why our state should not be better secured and courting favours of investors.
“Since Wike became governor, no major investor, either foreign or local, has looked the way of Rivers State. Despite wasting our money in hosting all manner of events, no serious attempt has been made to employ our youth. Rather than create employment, the governor has made more people jobless. All visionary policies and programmes of his predecessor have become moribund” he said.
