SEN.MAGNUS ABE CONCERNED ABOUT THE STATE OF RIVERS...

Senator Magnus Abe concerned about the state of Rivers... . In a smoking hot interview the Senator said, . "I feel that as at today, by my level of participation in the politics of Rivers State, I am an Elder Statesman. So if I have something to say to the Governor, I should call him on phone and say, "my brother, we shouldn't do this, we shouldn't do that." But because of the way the whole governorship thing came, I've refused to call him... . "I am concerned about the level of insecurity in the state. I am concerned about the lack of responsibility on the part of government. I am concerned about the reason behind some of the decisions that the government is taking. And I will give you a few examples... I came in here with governor Amaechi as Secretary to Government of Rivers State, and one of the first things we did was to get briefings for everything that has to do with security that Celestine Omehia has put in place. Everybody knows that Celestine Omehia and Rotimi Amaechi were bitter rivals, but when we came in, the C4I was an initiative, an ideas of Celestine Omehia. The people were hired by him, we didn't know them, he contracted them, and everybody say 'no, they're Celestine's people.' but when we listened to what they were saying and the kind of value they felt that they could offer, we took the program and reconfigured it... They wanted to build a training facility, and were paid almost a billion naira for something we felt was just a base. So we went to where the Nigerian Police already have a school in Nonwa and built a training facility. Today, that facility is being used by the police and is still useful to Nigeria. We kept those Israelis, and everybody saw the work those people did within that time. We gave them every support to ensure that we kept the security situation of the state under control. . But what has Wike done? 'Oh... this Amaechi people...' They were not our people, Celestine hired them, he knew the people better than we did, but because it was a decision taken in the interest of Rivers people, we improved it, concluded it, and sustained it. And people felt it during our tenure than they did in Celestine's time. They didn't even know what C-4-I was in Celestine's time. . "Look at the Flyover, Mile 1 Market, Town Market, Okrika Ring-Road... These were all projects initiated, awarded and even started by Celestine Omehia. Money was paid, and even when the money could not do the work, what did we do? Those same contractors, we got them back, rejigged the whole thing, funded them up, and the projects were completed and used by Rivers people. . "But what has the present administration done with all the things initiated by the Amaechi's administration, what has been their reaction to them? Money or no money, you know, you can't run a government on that kind of philosophy. . "I will give you another example, when we came in, we saw Rivers students that were sent abroad, different ethnic groups were given scholarships and their children sent abroad. But when we came in did we ask the children to come back? No! We felt that doing it on ethnic basis was not proper, so we decided to do it on the basis of the entire state and made it a competition, local government by local government, based on merit. And that is what we got RSDDA to do and they've been doing it. But what is the response of the present administration to that initiative? It wasn't started by Rotimi Amaechi, RSSDA was started by Dr. Peter Odili, but we continued it. . "So all I'm simply saying is that a governor is a human being, the type of people you surround yourself with in government determines, to a large extent, the quality of what you deliver. And your whole vision must be clear, you must make people around you understand that it is about Rivers State, it's not about you the reigning governor. It is not about what your people get. It is not about who is your person and who is not your person. It's about what progress the state can make. Every initiative that was started by the past administration is being treated like a smallpox, that's not how to run a progressive society. . "My friend, Senator Ngige, was. not governor for a very long, but his people love him for his commitment. To the people of Anambra State, he's still a very popular and formidable politician till tomorrow, based on the few billions that he spent there. So even if you're governor for two days, you can use those two days to convince the people of Rivers State that their welfare, well-being, progress and prosperity is the reason you're there. And if you behave in that manner you won't need anybody to advertise it, people will see it. And that is what made Chibuike Amaechi so popular as governor of Rivers State, because it was clear that everything he was doing was all about Rivers State, it wasn't about him."