The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has described the eight years administration of his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi as “clearly wasteful, purposeless and irresponsible.”
Wike, who made the claim during a keynote address at the 20th National Convention of the Ogbakor Ikwerre in the United States, US, at the Crowne Palace Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday, said the “purposeless” nature of the past state government led to underdevelopment of the state.
He, however, stressed that his administration came into government prepared, hence it confronted the developmental challenges it inherited by kick-starting an unprecedented statewide development process.
According to Wike, the state is effectively on the path of growth after his administration revived critical sectors of the economy and governance structure.
He said: “For eight years the government was clearly wasteful, purposeless and irresponsible. Under their watch, our economy crumbled and public infrastructure, such as roads, schools, hospitals and sporting facilities were in their worst and horrible state of disrepair. The economy deteriorated to a point that the government was no longer meeting its financial obligations to civil servants, contractors and international donor agencies.”
“Under our watch all the three arms of government are functioning effectively and working harmoniously towards the common good of our people and for the first time in a long while our people are now enjoying the positive effects of having a government that listens, cares, and consults with the people through their representatives before taking any steps.
“In terms of the tangibles, we have substantially delivered on our campaign promises to the State and our people. We have a pan-Rivers mandate. And so we are bound to spread development to all parts of the State. This is what we are doing to foster balanced development.
“We have spent over 140 billion naira in the last two years under our strategic infrastructure development plan to deliver several roads, bridges and jetties in not less than 15 local government areas across the three senatorial districts of the State.
“For the first time in our history, rural roads are receiving considerable attention. Indeed, our unprecedented investments in infrastructure have invigorated growth and created thousands of jobs in the economy. We have also directed resources towards improving education and healthcare delivery.”
