Inauguration: We Will Never Surrender Our Freedom To Anybody -Wike.

Rivers State re-elected Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, and his
Deputy, Dr. Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, yesterday took oath of office to
commence their second term.

The oath of office was administered on Wike and Harry-Banigo by
the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Adama
Iyaye-Laminkara, in the presence of thousands of Rivers people at
the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Port Harcourt.

In an inauguration address,Wike declared that he will always
place Rivers State first in all his actions, saying: “For us, in
all things it is Rivers State first; Rivers State is the measure;
Rivers State before others.

“This is the essence of the political mandate and burden that we
will bear for the next four years and we will not disappoint
you.

“We will continue to stand up for Rivers State and defend her
interest, no matter the challenges or what comes at us.”

The governor stated that his administration is not in opposition
to the Federal Government, calling for partnership to move Rivers
State and Nigeria forward.

He said: “We are not in opposition with the Federal Government.
We are seeking for partnership to move Rivers State and Nigeria
forward.

“But we are not a conquered people and we will never surrender
our freedoms to any body or entity, whether internal or
external.

“We will therefore not accept to be subjugated to a headmaster
and pupil power relationship; neither will we abandon the
collective interest of Rivers State for the sake of political
expediency.

“We are for the rule of law, democracy and mutual respect as
autonomous State entities and co-building blocks of the Nigerian
federation.”

Wike thanked the good people of Rivers State, especially the
voters, for their trust and support that led to the mandate to
serve the state for another four years.

The governor thanked leaders of the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) in the state, traditional rulers, the clergy, women and youth
groups for their unwavering support.

He said: “For us, everyone counts and we must not allow
ourselves to be divided between upland and riverine considerations
but strive for common grounds, solidarity and work together towards
achieving our common goals and aspirations.

“Our refrain at this time, and especially in the face of the
social and economic uncertainties in our nation, should be: ask
what you can do for Rivers State instead of what Rivers State can
do for you.

“The future of our state depends on us. It is up to us to renew,
re-energize, and advance the Rivers dream, to fight for what
belongs to us, and to defend our right to exist in freedom,
security and peace in our own nation.

“And if we do cooperate, think and act among ourselves with
tenacity and unity of strength, purpose and commitment, then there
is no mountain we cannot level; no river we cannot cross, and no
goal we set for ourselves that we cannot achieve.”

Wike, who outlined the direction of his administration for the
next four years, pledged to consolidate on his first term
achievements and make Rivers State, the greatest state in the
country.

The governor said: “Our economy is great but it should be
greater and made more beneficial to all. And so we will continue to
grow our economy, expand our tax base, provide a friendly business
environment and attract foreign and local investments to create
more jobs and empower our people.

“We will continue on the economic trajectory of fiscal
discipline, prudence, prioritization of capital projects over
recurrent and giving value for money spent in the delivery of
services.

“We know we are developing, but it’s better and more
result-oriented if approached in an organized and strategic
form.

“We will therefore adopt a holistic approach to development by
partnering with relevant national and international agencies and
expertise to initiate and implement a 25-years marshall plan for
economic transformation and development to guide and accelerate the
future development of our state.”

He spelt out key areas that will will witness remarkable
improvements under his leadership during his second term.

Wike stated that the administration will continue with the
provision of quality road network, bridges and prioritize the
development of more social amenities, schools, health facilities,
water and sanitation, electricity, land reclamation and
preservation of natural resources.

The governor said: “For too long, we have relied mostly on a
single vanishing revenue source to fund our development. The
reality is that we cannot continue in this economic folly lest we
remain forever vulnerable to the ripples, uncertainties and
miseries of the mono-product based national economy.

“Apart from oil and gas, Rivers State also has a vast
agricultural potential, which has remained largely untapped for
decades.

“For us therefore, it is about time we embraced the green
revolution as a strategic measure for achieving economic
diversification, job creation and food security for the State and
our people, and we are just ready to do that.

“Our role in this regard will span from granting interest free
loans to providing training, land preparation and logistical
support to our willing youths to invest in commercial agriculture
and allied businesses.”

He particularly announced that his administration will construct
fly over bridges at Rumuokoro Round-about, along Ikwerre Road as
well as at Garrison Junction and Artillery Junction, all along Aba
Road in Port Harcourt.

Wike, who assured that youth development will take centre stage
during his second term, said: “We’ve got good news for all our
youths this time around as we will dedicate much of the next four
years to youth development by tackling the challenges that continue
to keep you behind.

“As a starting point, we’ve resolved to give our youths some
significant positions in our government and provide viable economic
opportunities to spark hopes of a better future in their eyes.

“Let me also assure you that those who need education will get
quality one; those who want life-skills will be trained; those who
want to do business will continue to get our interest free loans;
and those who have sporting talents will have quality sporting
facilities and encouragement from us.

“And for those interested in making a career out of football, we
have provided the Real Madrid Academy to prepare you for
life-transforming professional footballing careers at home and
abroad”.

The governor, who noted that education and health development
will be given priority attention during his second term, said: “I
wish to assure us that we are determined to change this narrative
for the better.

“We will continue to equip our public schools and ensure our
children have access to quality learning experience; empower our
teachers with modern teaching skills to deliver better outcomes in
the classrooms, and advance our universities to equip and prepare
our graduates to be competitive and strive for creativity,
self-reliance and service.

“We believe that quality healthcare should be available and
affordable to every citizen as of right and this is what we are
working hard to achieve with our efforts and commitment to fix the
existing shortcomings in the State’s healthcare system.

“To this end, we hope to fully restore all the general
hospitals, complete and equip the five zonal referral hospitals,
fully upgrade the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital and
provide more healthcare facilities to under-served areas of the
state.”

He restated the ban on all forms of street trading and arbitrary
creation of illegal motor parks and taxi ranks across the
state.

Wike said: “We will sanitize the transport sector and ensure
that all commercial taxi and bus operators are duly registered with
the State’s Ministry of Transport to safeguard the comfort, safety
and security of commuters.

“We recognize the correlation between adequate security and the
well being of our people. We all therefore deserve to be safe and
secure in our homes, offices, business places, along our roads and
in our neighbourhoods and inn our communities.”

He regretted that the Federal Government has politicised
security in Rivers State and called on the Federal Government to
assist the state tackle insecurity.

Wike said: “What’s more, they have refused to accord adequate
security attention to Rivers State in spite of the unprecedented
support they receive from us in terms of provision of operational
vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, gunboats, communication
gazettes, fuel and overheads to the security agencies.

“Nevertheless, we thank the security agencies, especially the
State Commands of the Police, the Department of State Security, the
Nigerian Air force and the Nigerian Navy for the partnership and
willingness to give their best to keep us safe and secure in spite
of the seaming indifference and lack of tangible material support
and encouragement from the Federal Government.

“Even now and going forward, we can only pray to them to
depoliticize the provision of security in Rivers State because we
are also Nigerians as other States and the preservation of our
lives and property should equally matter to the Federal
Government.”

The governor announced that the Rivers State government will
operationalise the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency for the
improved security of the State.

He apologised to Rivers people for the poor environmental
sanitation achievements of the administration and declared that his
administration will take concrete measures to improve environmental
sanitation and health in the state.

Wike said: “I wish to emphasize that we will no longer tolerate
those who continue to degrade and undermine our rights to live in a
clean, healthy and safe environment.

“We are therefore minded to declare a state of emergency on the
environment and tackle all forms of degradation, nuisance and
irresponsible behavior occasioned by individuals, companies and
other agencies, both public and private.”

The governor noted that his administration used his first term
to improve critical sectors of the State for the good of Rivers
people.

He said: “In the last four years, we have made historic
investments in education, healthcare, security, and sports
development. Today, our economy is widely acclaimed as the fastest
growing in the country with internally generated revenues
projections and fiscal responsibility attaining record levels.

“We have eased the tax burden on investors; our economy is on
upward spiral, creating jobs and attracting new investments from
within and outside the State, pushing up property rates and
creating new opportunities for existing and budding
entrepreneurs.

“We have rid all our roads of potholes, completed most of the
abandoned road projects we inherited and built new ones, including
dual carriageways across the State.

“For the first time in history, the ancient Opobo Kingdom, Ikuru
town and other adjoining coastal communities have been linked to
the rest of the State by road by our administration.

“We have also provided internal roads to a number of communities
as well as regenerated some of our decaying neghbourhoods,
including Diobu, Port Harcourt Township, Ogunabali and Amadi
Ama.”

Wike called for cooperation from all groups of the state,
irrespective of the political, ethnic and economic interests to
join hands with his administration for the development of the
state.

The governor said: “We all need each other because everyone
counts. We need ideas and contributions from everyone, irrespective
of ethnic, party or religious affiliations and together, we can
consolidate, target new heights and build the Rivers State that we
all want to see now and in the future.

“We may be from different social, economic or political
background, but the bottom-line is that we are all Rivers people
with common aspirations and challenges and when we reflect on our
shared values and responsibility to the state and our people, we
will discover that we all stand to win by repudiating the politics
of division, hatred and self-interest that constitute a drag on our
collective progress.”

He assured Rivers people that he will serve them in humility and
commitment to the development of the State .

Wike said: “I stand here today with a humble spirit, conscious
of the enormous responsibility that you have again entrusted in us
and confident in our potential and with God on our side, we will
surely discharge our mandate to the benefit of all and leave our
dear Rivers State better off than when we started four years
ago.”

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