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Rivers@57: Fubara attributes administration’s success to alignment with God

The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that his administration has succeeded thus far because it is on the side of God.

He explained that his administration is still standing strong, delivering dividends of democracy to the people, and solving critical problems of governance despite the sudden political crisis that erupted and persisted in the state because of God’s grace.

He said that the successes recorded so far were possible because God has been graciously upholding the government, offering him the right direction, and giving him the strength to carry on.

Gov Fubara spoke at the State Banquet to celebrate his first year in office and the 57th anniversary of the creation of Rivers State at Government House on Monday night.

He explained that while others were celebrating one full year of service to the people, he had only actually been in control of real governance characterised by prudence, purposefulness, and protection of the interests of the state in the last four months.

The governor said that under his watch, the Rivers State Government has provided governance that has the interests of our people at heart, is prudent, and shows respect for the people.

Gov Fubara stated, “We decided to have this banquet today to say thank you, thank you, and thank you to every one of you. You have supported us.

“The last time I had this opportunity to dine with you was on January 1, 2024, and you know, the mood was not like this. We never knew we could even stand up until today.”

He added, “You see the reason why we need to give God all the glory. It is very simple: one thing is very important and unique; we are succeeding because we are on the side of God.

“It is not just standing on the side of God; because everybody professes to be standing on the side of God, even the native doctor would call on God.

“But what is important is God being in your business. God is in our business. And because He is in our business, we will continue to survive, no matter where they are coming from,” he said.

He insisted that his purpose in government was to deliver the dividends of democracy to the Rivers people, which would not be compromised.

The governor went on, “It takes somebody who loves this state genuinely to embark on a project like the Trans-Kalabari Road. I am not from that axis of the riverine, where somebody would say I’m doing it because I’m from there. No. That project alone will cost the government over N225 billion.

“But so far, to show our commitment, we are not just saying that we want to do it; we have started it, and we believe in delivering it.

“We believe that when this project is completely delivered, security issues will be reduced, the development will come to our people in far-remote areas that you could hitherto only traverse through the sea, and issues of water piracy will be gone, including issues of boat mishaps that we keep recording,” he added.

He urged the people to see the project as an effort towards the expansion of the state and ensuring that development extends to other parts of the state away from the centre of Port Harcourt City.

Emphasising his administration’s commitment to turning around the fortunes of the healthcare sector in the state, Governor Fubara assured that he would make sure that all zonal hospitals come on stream in the next six months.

He said, “Are we even talking about the health sector? We have given ourselves a task: in the next six months, all our zonal hospitals, including the general hospitals in strategic LGAs, must function.

“If you have the money to afford healthcare services at an affordable rate, you don’t have a problem. You don’t need to go to private hospitals when the government hospitals are functioning.

On education, his goal is to take Rivers State from where we have met it to another level. level where we know that everybody can afford to send their children to school. It is not everyone who can send their children to those expensive private schools out there!

“So, we want to provide the basics. It is only when we have those basics that issues of crime will be reduced. It is only when we have those basics that criminality, including kidnapping and cultism, will also be reduced,” he explained.

“You have schools that you can send your children to, and they can learn and compete favourably with those in private schools; what else?

Gov Fubara restated the concern of his administration, which is to improve the livelihood and well-being of the people, and solicited more support from the leaders of the state and, more especially, the other arms of government—the Legislature and Judiciary—to enable the government to serve the people better.

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