By President Bola Tinubu,Rapheal

Copyright thesun

Unity, employment, security, infrastructure devt top demands

From Tony John, Port Harcourt

The people of Rivers State have outlined their expectations from Governor Siminalayi Fubara as he re-assumes duty after the expiration of the six months of emergency rule imposed by President Bola Tinubu on the state.

The residents, who expressed joy that the emergency rule has ended and full democratic governance restored with the recall of the governor, his deputy Prof. Ngozi Odu and the state House of Assembly led by Martin Amaewhule, described the six months State of Emergency as painful, regrettable and retrogressive.

Members of the State House of Assembly set the agenda on the resumption of plenary on Thursday, calling on the governor to present a list of commissioner -nominees and the appropriation bill for the remaining part of 2025 to address current realities.

However, the Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum (RIVELF) led by the acting chairman and former deputy governor of the state, Gabriel Toby, has called on the governor to focus on tackling unemployment, insecurity, infrastructural decay, and environmental degradation.

Also, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress APC in Rivers State and strong political associate of the former Minister of Transportation Chibuike Amaechi, said the governor should on his return, prioritise development, stressing that whatever agreement that the governor might have entered that is not in the interest of Rivers people should be looked into.

He said: “The governor, upon his return must prioritize the development of the state, which he has always pursued with zeal. And service to the people should be top on his to-do-list because Rivers people still believe in the sincerity of his administration.

“Any agreement that does not serve the interest of the people which the Governor was made to sign must be subject to the mandate to provide service and be accountable to the people.” Former member of the House of Representatives, Ogbonna Nwuke believes that all the projects that Fubara started before he was suspended from office, will be revisited and completed for the good of Rivers people.

He said: “Our expectation is that going forward, we will have a united real estate on the basis of the best norms of good governance. Our expectation is that all of those projects that made Fubara’s government very progressive, months before it was suspended will be revisited quickly. All those projects are tied to the future development of Rivers State.

“Above all, we expect that the legislature and the executive will collaborate and that their collaboration will bring about good governance as well. The expectations of the Rivers people who have prayed for their return, who have fought for their return, will be satisfied in the days to come,” he said.

Similarly, a legal practitioner simply identified as Ubani, said Rivers people are delighted that the governor has been recalled to come and continue with his people-oriented programmes and projects for the state.

He said: “We are overwhelmed with joy that our governor is back because we have high expectations of him. We know how much passionate he is about the development of Rivers State and he showed that before the suspension came.

“Now that his suspension is over, he should continue the good works that he commenced before his suspension and, of course, take it to a higher level than it has been.

“The governor, being a peaceful man, should ensure that all the political stakeholders would come together and work in one accord for the good of Rivers State.

“The governor had severally said to Rivers people and those doing business here that no amount of sacrifice is too much for the peace of Rivers State. We expect him to pursue that part of peace that he has always lived for.

“Of course, we have lost six months; we can’t regain it. He should put behind him past disagreements and focus on moving the development of the state to take a centre stage.”