NIGERIANS got a wake-up call yesterday from Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
The governor urged them to insist on good governance and the conduct of transparent elections.
Amaechi, who made the call at a conference of the state council on
information in Port Harcourt, the state capital, blamed weak governance
on laxity among the electorate.
He said the greater percentage of blame for bad leadership goes to the voting public rather than leaders.
Amaechi said: “`The people should demand for transparent election and
good governance and where they do not, they are 80 per cent of the
problem.”
The governor said the citizens must avoid keeping quiet when things
went wrong in leadership on the assumption that nemesis would catch up
with bad leaders.
He said that such belief had impoverished the nation, while the leaders continued to squander national resources.
“Insist that election must be transparent; nobody will give you your
right, demand for it and claim it,” the governor counselled.
On the feats achieved by his six-year administration, Amaechi said
the administration completed 250 modern primary schools, which would be
delivered to the host communities in September.
Besides, he said his administration tackled the problem of a large
number of pupils in classrooms to ensure proper learning for the
children.
He also said the administration would deliver six new model secondary schools to communities in September.
Amaechi spoke of plans to kit pupils in public schools with laptops,
tablets, beds and provide free feeding for nine months after which the
parents would take over responsibility of their training.
He also said his administration would inaugurate the “Unity bridge“
linking two coastal communities, Opobo and Ikuru, to land
transportation, in January.
The governor said his administration had also built a new school of
nursing and that students would move into the facility in December.
He said that the cultural centre and many other projects were nearing
completion, adding that his administration released money for the
building of a new Rivers FM station.
Amaechi said that the government also approved money for building a
new printing press for the state-owned newspaper – Nigerian Tide and the
building of a new digitalised Rivers State Television.
According to him, the project would take off as soon as release of the funds goes through the Public Procurement process.
Explaining why the state power project has not been able to ensure
24-hour electricity supply, the governor said the power being generated
and fed into the national grid, could not be dedicated solely for the
state use.
Commissioner for Information Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the theme of
the conference was “Public Information Management as a tool for Good
Governance.“
Mrs. Semenitari explained that the theme was chosen because the state
planned to develop an information policy that de-emphasised
praise-singing and sycophancy in governance.
source: The Nation
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