For Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, leading the state has not been an easy task. Observers of the development in Port Harcourt since his May 29 inauguration are agreed that the governor has rather been grappling with teething problems in administering the state.
Wike’s problem commenced with meeting what was considered an empty treasury on assumption of office. Incidentally, his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, in what looked like mockery, had challenged him to accomplish what he (Amaechi) had accomplished, if he thought it was easy. Speaking at a special thanksgiving service organised by the campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Dakuku Peterside, on Sunday May 17, 2015, Amaechi had hinted that Wike may not have money to run the government, as the state was cash-strapped. True to his remarks, the governor has, since assumption of office, been making efforts to ensure that the state remains afloat.
What also slowed the new administration in the state was what its admirers alleged as the looting of Government House and vandalism of government property.
These include vehicles, beddings, security doors, and even kitchen utensils. Eleven vehicles were later recovered at private homes. Because of the level of despoliation, Wike refused initially to move into the Government House immediately after he was sworn in.
Though Amaechi may not have directly been involved in the alleged looting and vandalism, critics insist that he created the ground for the malfeasance, as he left Port Harcourt with visible anger over the new reality that Wike was coming to replace him. In what was considered a bizarre action, the former governor did not formally hand over to Wike. He also did not put in place a machinery for smooth transition – a situation that necessitated Wike being sworn in by neighbouring Bayelsa State Chief Judge.
The governor has, however, been fighting back at individuals and institutions perceived to have worked with Amaechi. Drawing the first blood, the administration had summoned the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) chairman and its key staff for questioning by the state legislature before its dissolution. It also issued warning to banks and financial institutions not to have financial dealings with the local government councils that the Amaechi administration put in place on the eve of its departure.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in the state has, in fact, kicked against the councils and has been threatening to dissolve them.
Wike woos the people
Some other actions of the former administration have been reversed by Wike. For instance, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) lecturers who had been sacked since 2012 with no salaries were ordered back to classrooms, promising to pay their withheld salaries. In the same vein, lawyers who had been out of job since the closure of the state judiciary from the middle of last year had a breath of fresh air as the new administration threw the doors of the state’s judiciary open for business.
In line with the new order, the PDP administration in the state has appointed an Acting Chief Judge, Daisy Okocha, to superintend the affairs of the judiciary. Before the action, the absence of a chief judge, which had lingered for one year, affected the wheel of justice in the state. The government, in taking the action, had dissolved the State Judicial Service Commission that had been fingered in the crisis in the sector.
Wike also reconstituted the Board of Greater Port Harcourt Development Authority, with Ambassador Desmond Akawo as the new sole administrator. The board has as its chairman, Ferdinand Alabraba, while other members include Mrs. Florence Amiesimaka, Okas Wike, Chima Boms, Tonte Davies, Nnamdi Obuzor and Gloria Akor.
Akawo was the chairman of the New Rivers Campaign Organisation, the platform on which Wike rode to power. Greater Port Harcourt Authority was among the authorities the House of Assembly accused of corruption.
The governor, who had declared that his cabinet would be built on capacity, merit and track record of performance, stressed that nobody would be appointed to any position on the platform of mere patronage. Our reporter, however, learnt that he is gradually but steadily constituting his cabinet, conscious of the need to reward political loyalty and hard work among party members as well as need for performance.
He had, in this regard, appointed a chief of staff, four commissioners and a special adviser on media. Among those he swore in are former Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Kenneth Kobani as Secretary to the State Government (SSG); Emeka Woke as Chief of Staff, Government House; and Emma Okah as Commissioner for Housing.
Others were Emmanuel Chinwe Aguma as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice; Mrs. Onimim Jack as Commissioner for Agriculture; and Dr. Fred Kpakol as Commissioner for Finance. Opunabo Inko-Tariah is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Governor.
Wike urged the new appointees to get down working and ensure that they deliver on programmes contained in the administration’s blueprint.
“All appointments so far made were targeted at adding value to a state that had faced series of development challenges in the recent past,” he declared.
He charged the Attorney-General to ensure that there is effective justice delivery in the state, adding: “On no account should the courts be closed in the state as was the case with the previous administration.”
He, however, dissolved the boards of the state Civil Service Commission, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, State College of Arts and Science, and sacked some lecturers of the State Polytechnic, Bori.
The governor also scrapped the Rivers State Traffic Management Authority (TIMARIV). Critics of TIMARIV, as well as the State Urban Renewal Authority Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and other task forces, say they are repressive, given the level of impunity and outlawry that characterised their actions.
Even with the reformist efforts, the administration is yet to find steady feet on account of lack of funds to execute its touted projects.
It also has to contend with litigations from the APC over the last elections in the state.