By ABUBAKAR YUSUF.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Nzenwo Wike has lauded the leadership roles of former Kogi Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris while in and out office .
The Governor dropped the commendation on Wednesday during the commissioning ceremony in Portharcourt of the remodeled and furnished waterlines building in the state.
He said the exemplary leadership roles of the former Kogi Governor while in office, and his efforts towards repositioning the leading opposition party, PDP in Nigeria was what we are replicating in Rivers State.
“As an elder statesman with great achievements while serving as Kogi Governor, inviting you for a second time for project commissioning was not a misnormer, the first was the eastern bypass road.”
“We in Rivers State have decided to toe the same line of success that brought development to Kogi state in your distinct 9 year tenure , so as to bring development not only to the people, but closer to them.”
“We cannot thank you enough and your team for prompt response, whenever we approached you to come to Rivers State and commission project.”
“Because of your high regard to humanity and selfless services to the people, you came today again to commission project out of your tight schedules, that had direct bearing on the Iives of the people.”
“We inherited the dillapidated structure that had posed a serious dangers to the Iives of it’s occupants, and most of them were civil servants , who claimed they had paid to the state government to continue to occupy the dillapidated structure that had turned to an eyesore.”
” I handed down a quit notice instructions and also asked them to take the state government to court over it’s planned renovation of the legacy projects that now harbour all forms of criminals and criminalities in the state.”
“We awarded the contract of remodeling and furnishing of the iconic and legacy structure to an indigenous contractor as a form of continuous patronage , and this led to the timely completion of the edifice you are commissioning today.”
Governor Wike said he will also be readily available for fatherly advises from former Kogi Governor, both in and out of office.
The former Kogi Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris while responding during the project commissioning urged the people of Rivers State to justify the huge investment by the state government to protect the legacy project.
He said government at all levels had embarked and embraced maintainance culture because of the pressing variables of global economic crunch, that had affected all areas of our national life including embarking on new projects.
He praised the Governor for prioritising infrastructural development and taking the bull by the horn that led towards massive remodeling and furnishing of the edifice.
The former Kogi Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris stated that the founding fathers of the state had good intentions, therefore it was not out of place for Governor Wike to build on the existing template of development.
