Rivers State Governor and Chairman, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, yesterday desclosed that it was his constitutional obligation to the people of the state to deliver on infrastructure and spend public funds judiciously.
Amaechi said it was also his constitutional responsibility to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state.
He spoke during an inspection tour to Elioparanwo and Ogbogoro roads in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
Amaechi said: “I’m paid to do this job. I’m employed by the Rivers people, so I’m bound to deliver. The responsibility of a governor is to deliver on infrastructure, the lives and well-being of the citizens and ensure that they have security.
“You can’t have government money in your kitty and not be able to utilise it. You must deploy it to the development of the people. It’s about priority, what you choose to do.”
He urged the contractor on site to ensure that the Elioparanwo road which is 3.25 kilometre long would be completed before the rainy season.
He appealed to the people to identify with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, describing the APC as the vehicle for change in the state and country.
“The people of APC are progressives. APC is progressive. All of us are progressives, so you can’t like me and not like APC. Yes, they may like me for who I am but they should also like APC for the fact that we bring change. I represent change and I think that the people should also like APC for being a vehicle for change,” he noted.
The governor, however, said the state was losing revenue because some of its oil wells were being transferred to other neighbouring states.
He also decried the dwindling federal government allocations to the state, noting that the state expects the federal government to release its full allocations.
According to him, the financial picture across the states in the country was gloomy as a result of the dwindling allocations and corruption in the oil sector.
“The problem is the federal government; they have cut off the resources of Rivers State Government and Rivers people. They have taken away the oil wells in Soku and given to Bayelsa. They have taken the ones between Oyigbo and Etche and given to Abia, so our resources continue to dwindle.”