Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has clarified that his visit to the residential quarters of the State House of Assembly was to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the condition of the structures for possible rehabilitation work to restore its status and make it habitable.
The Governor made a brief stop at the Assembly Quarters yesterday en route to Emohua – Abalama – Tema Junction to inspect the 15.24 kilometers long dual carriageway road project.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, Governor Fubara, speaking after the inspection, stated that the assembly quarters is part of state government properties that need to be taken good care of.
He noted that the state now has a new speaker for the State House of Assembly, and his visit was to assess what needed to be done.
Governor Fubara, who took a walk around the facility, said he decided to visit the place to get a better appreciation of what needs to be done to make the quarters conducive for lawmakers.
The Governor said: “Is the Assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there? You are aware of the developments. We have a new speaker, and I went there to see for myself how things are. There might be a few things I might want to do there for the good of our people.”
Regarding the road project, the Governor said he was assessing the extent of the work that had been done to know what else was needed in preparing the road for commissioning during his one-year anniversary.
He pointed out that although the road project was inherited from the immediate past administration, a significant portion of the cost was borne by his administration.
“As a matter of fact, we added this section of the road as one of the projects we will be commissioning. So, I needed to see it myself, and what is remaining is just the lighting. By the grace of God, we will commission it.
“We feel justified to add it as our project and to commission it for the good of our people here. Governance is all about the people. When the people are out of the centre of governance, then it is no longer governance.
“So, this road, as we all now know, was in a very bad state. A lot of criminal activities were being carried out here: kidnapping and all sorts of things. So, putting this road in order is appropriate,” he said.
The Governor further added: “You can see the little hour we spent coming here. Before, it takes you 30 to 45 minutes to drive from Emohua to this place. But look at it, less than 15 minutes we are here. So, it is about the people, the good of the people, making life easy for the people. That is the way I see governance. Anything outside that has nothing to do with me.”