Following controversies that trailed his visit to the State House of Assembly quarters, the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has explained that his visit to the residential quarters of the State House of Assembly was to personally undertake on-the-spot assessment of condition of the structures to see for himself “how things are.”
He mentioned the visit was necessary noting that a new speaker of the State Assembly has emerged.
“We have a new speaker, and I went there to see for my myself how things are,” Fubara said.
Recall that following the factional division in the political structures of the State playing out in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo, the lawmaker Representing Bonny Local Government Area State Constituency at the Rivers State House of Assembly, on Wednesday emerged as another speaker of the State Assembly.
Jumbo emerged as the Speaker of the three-man Assembly members that is loyal to the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, during its sitting in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Jumbo is emerging after the resignation of Rt. Hon. Edion Ehie, now the Chief of Staff to the State Government.
His emergence is following calls by the All Progressives Congress (APC) supported by Local Government Area chairmen in the State for the impeachment of the governor.
Fubara on Monday had said the House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Rt Hon Martin Amaewhule, is not recognised by law.
Meanwhile, Fubara’s visit to the quarters where the Martin Amaewhule-led group met was amid tight security.
The Governor had made a brief stop at the Assembly Quarters enroute Emohua – Abalama -Tema Junction on inspection of the 15.24 kilometers long dual carriageway road project.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, Fubara, who spoke after the inspection stated that the assembly quarters is part of state government properties, adding that the facility needs to be taken good care of.
He noted that the State now has a new speaker for the State House of Assembly, noting that his visit was to see what were necessary to be done.
Fubara, who took a walk round the facility, said that he decided to visit the place to get better appreciation of what needs to be done to make the quarters conducive for lawmakers.
The Governor said: “Is the Assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there? You are aware of the developments. We have a new speaker, and I went there to see for my myself how things are. There might be a few things I might want to do there for the good of our people.”
The Governor speaking on the road project, said he was assessing the extent of job that had been done to know what else was needed in preparing the road for commissioning during his one year anniversary.
He pointed out that the road project was inherited from the immediate past administration but a greater chunk of the cost was borne by his administration.
“As a matter of fact, we added this section of the road as one of the projects we will be commissioning. So, I needed to see it myself, and what is remaining is just the lighting. By the grace of God, we will commission it.
“We feel justified to add it as our project and to commission it for the good of our people here. Governance is all about the people. When the people are out of the centre of governance, then it is no longer governance.
“So, this road, as we all now know, was in a very bad state. A lot of criminal activities were being carried out here: kidnapping and all sorts of things. So, putting this road in order is appropriate,” he said.
The Governor further added: “You can see the little hour we spent coming here. Before, it takes you 30 to 45 minutes to drive from Emohua to this place. But look at it, less than 15 minutes we are here. So, it is about the people, the good of the people, making life easy for the people. That is the way I see governance. Anything outside that has nothing to do with me.”