Stop spending Rivers funds frivolously, APC state chairman tells Fubara
Chief Tony Okocha, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, has accused Gov. Siminialayi Fubara of spending frivolously the money meant for the development of the state.
Okocha made the accusation on Tuesday in Port Harcourt while briefing newsmen on the state of development in Rivers in the last 10 months of Fubara’s administration.
According to Okocha, the APC in Rivers has come to the conclusion that Fubara’s administration is "visionless.”.
“The governor is busy spending money on Thanksgiving in all the local government areas of the state.
“We are here to condemn, in absolute terms, the inactivity of this government; the governor is meant to consolidate on the road plan of his predecessors, but we have seen that the governor has derailed from the consolidation plan.
“Government should be about continuity; that is why the current governor of Akwa Ibom continued with the laid-down plans of the government.
“The governor of Rivers is completely out of the road plans; apart from the ring road initiated by the former governor, Nyesom Wike, there is no other road project initiated in the state by the current administration.
“We need to know what is happening in Rivers State; people are saying the governor is transforming Songai Farm and rehabilitating the cassava plant.
“How does that translate to good governance for the Rivers people? So, the support is highly orchestrated by the governor himself,” Okocha said.
On the economic hardship witnessed in the country, Okochaexplained that the hardship was a global phenomenon and not a result of leadership failure.
He said that President Bola Tinubu was eager to bring Nigerians out of suffering, just as he demonstrated political will and removed the fuel subsidy, which he said was "anti-people.”.
“The Federal Government added the funds gotten from the removal of subsidies to the state allocation to cushion the effect of hardship.
“This is why states now get not less than $20 billion as their monthly allocation.
“Some state governments were busy giving palliatives to people in their states to cushion the effect of fuel subsidies.
“Rivers State is number three in terms of federal allocation; what has the state government done with the funds allocated to it?” he added.
He urged the governor to ensure that he conducts local government elections as enshrined in the constitution.
He also urged the governor to constitute the State Executive Council (SEC) and not run the state single-handedly without the State Assembly because APC members are in majority.
