Amaechi Asks Jonathan To Release Rivers’ Money THE Rivers State Governor and Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has said that the state is expecting the Federal Government to release its full monthly allocations. Amaechi, who lamented that the state was losing revenue because some of its oil wells were transferred to neighbouring states, pointed out that the financial situation across the state was gloomy. The governor spoke on Tuesday while inspecting ongoing work on Elioparanwo and Ogbogoro Roads in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state. He decried the dwindling Federal Government allocations to the state and attributed the decrease in monthly allocations across the country to 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 them to Bayelsa. “They have taken the ones between Oyigbo and Etche and given them to Abia. So, our resources continue to dwindle. We used to make between N19bn and N20bn now, we are doing N13bn. “Last month was N15bn; we don’t know how much we will earn this month. We pray that it improves. That’s one; then two is the fact that the level of stealing in the oil sector is affecting the revenue in all the states. So, we don’t have enough,” he said. Amaechi, however, explained that he was under an obligation to use state funds to deliver on the provision of infrastructure, adding that it was also his responsibility to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state. “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, enhance the wellbeing of the citizens and ensure their security. “You can’t have government money in your kitty and not be able to utilize it. You must deploy it to the development of the people. It’s about priority; what you choose to do,” he said. Amaechi appealed to the contractor at the site to ensure that the 3.25- kilometre Elioparanwo Road was completed before the rainy season. The governor urged the people to identify with the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state, describing the APC as the vehicle for change in the state and the country. He said, “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.” Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State has called on Amaechi to convince the people with facts supporting his claims of saving N1bn every month for the state. A statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media to the state PDP chairman, Mr. Jerry Needam, challenged the state governor to provide details of the monthly deposits and balance of such financial transaction or else, the party and the people would not to take such claim seriously. “The PDP believes that the latest governor’s action in asking his House of Assembly stooges to approve the withdrawal of N30bn from the alleged monthly savings by the state government was a justification of the fact that the state is and can no longer sustain the savings undertaken by the government. “The party is of the view that if the government was that prudent, the financial status and state of facilities in the state would have improved and remained attractive,” the statement reads. Punch.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 08:40:32 +0000
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