Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that those who are delighted seeing Rivers sea ports remain inactive and moribund do not mean well for the state and the country.
He said the seaports were essential facilities that would contribute to harvesting the rich gains of the blue economy and advised politicians to be circumspect with their political activities in order not to use bitter politics to undermine peace and economic growth prospects of the State and the nation at large.
He gave the advice when he received a delegation of the House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Harbours, led by its Chairman, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji, on a courtesy visit to Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
The delegation was in the state on a familiarisation tour and oversight functions at the Port Harcourt, Onne Sea Ports, and Bonny channels.
The Governor said the Sea Ports were essential facilities that would contribute to harvesting the rich gains of the blue economy, adding that those who are delighted seeing them remain inactive and moribund do not mean well for the State and the country.
Fubara noted, “About nine years ago, if you understand the calculation; somebody here was the senior Minister of Transport, nothing happened at our ports. Every progress that was supported to come to the Sea Ports here, because of bitter politics was stopped. That is why our ports are moribund today.
“Today, after another eight years, which this other person suffered, we have entered into another similar era. If you love this state, it is normal to support everything that will bring progress and development to this state.”
He added, “It is not about who is sitting here today. It is about the state. If the state continues to go down, what is the interest? The only reason why we are struggling is because of the allocation.
“The only reason why we are struggling is to make sure that you have control of the treasury. But the treasury will also get fat if the seaports are working. Revenue will increase. Your plan for expansion will also become large with internal revenue.
“So, I want everybody to understand that politics of bitterness will not take us anywhere. It is only a thing that will lead you to early grave because once joy is taken away from a man’s life, it is anger, and anger leads to destruction of souls.
“So, please, for those of you who took this bold decision to come to see us and to make this possible, we want to thank you and assure you that no matter what it takes, we will not take the path of bitter politics.”
He insisted that politics should be rightly situated as a game with a winner to emerge at any particular time, and those who may not be lucky with winning should not indulge in acts that will destroy the system.
The Governor told members of the committee of the determination of his administration to give the requisite support that would lead to a total revamp and full-capacity operations of all the seaports and Blue Sea commercial channels in the state.
He said that when the reports of the committee were made public, his administration would note the recommendations and ensure that they were implemented.
He also berated those labelling the state as crisis-ridden, describing it as concocted from the figment of their imagination of what is not true.
He insisted that Rivers State is peaceful, safe and on the move to actualise more development, adding that nothing can happen, which will be worse than the October 30, 2023 event in the state.
In his speech, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Harbours, Rt Hon Nnolim Nnaji said the visit to the Governor was part of the familiarisation visit and to conduct oversight functions of the Port Harcourt Ports, Onne Ports and the Bonny Channel.
He stated that considering the importance of Rivers State to the economy of Nigeria, they decided to visit Rivers State first.
He said: “We also use the opportunity to encourage the State to support the programme of ports because we believe that new programme on Blue Economy will attract trillions of dollars when fully invested in.
“So, we are happy that we are here and we believe that Rivers State plays a major role in the Port programme. We want to also let you know that we as a committee, we are doing everything possible to support the upgrading of Port Harcourt and Onne Ports. In our budget, we are also doing a lot to see how we can support the Bonny Channels,” he added.