Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, says one of the greatest challenges facing the State, and indeed Nigeria, was the issue of illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism, which he said had taken a hard toll on the national economy.
Governor Fubara insisted that acts of economic sabotage should not be allowed to continue and urged traditional rulers in the state to ensure they end such acts from happening in their domains.
The governor insisted on sustaining the process as a government to engage youths and communities, including the security agencies to ensure the situation is salvaged.
He spoke recently at the Inter-denominational Church Thanksgiving Service as part of activities marking the 64th Independence Day Celebration of Nigeria at St. Paul’s Cathedral of the Anglican Communion, in Port Harcourt.
He said, “The security agencies, they are doing their best. As a government, we are also planning to have a special committee to tackle this problem.
“We need to improve the level of our oil production. That is the only way that we can get out of this situation. The situation is bad. There is no two ways about it. But we must come together as one to support what the centre is doing, so our lives can change.”
“We must protect our national treasures. The only thing we have now is this oil. Rivers and Bayelsa are the flashpoints, and because of that, it is affecting the level of production, and in turn, affecting the output and the revenue we make.
“Nigeria needs money now, the only way we can save Nigeria from this situation is increased production. Please, I am begging everyone, more especially the leaders of the most impacted local governments: Degema and Emohua. The traditional rulers that are covering these areas, you must do something about it.”
Governor Fubara expressed delight for the opportunity of marking another Nigerian Independence Day Anniversary in office in a few days.
Preaching on the topic, “Navigating the odds in our nation, Nigeria”, the Archbishop of Niger Delta Province, Most Reverend Blessing Enyindah, lamented that Nigeria seemed like a country under siege wherein its citizens are held up as captives with no hope brighter than noonday to expect.
Archbishop Enyindah blamed leaders across sectors, particularly political leaders for the nation’s woes.
“Instead of liberating the people from social, economic and political imprisonment, they accentuate poverty, economic hardship and soaring prices of goods.
“If political leaders stop enacting irrelevant policies that exacerbate chaos, resist the temptation of perpetuating themselves in office, and judicial officers breaking away from issuing conflicting judgments that promote miscarriage of justice, a new culture where everybody does what is right will emerge, and Nigeria will truly become the country it should be.”
