‘We want to develop a state that will not be dependent on oil’

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, in this interview with some newsmen, was upbeat about his achievements in making the state peaceful and able to attract investors while working towards improved welfare for the people. However, he lamented that news about political crises overshadowed many transformative projects being implemented in the state. ANN GODWIN was there.

Rivers State has been in the news because of the lingering political crisis between you and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), are you not bothered?
It is unfortunate when people say Rivers State has been in the news for the wrong reasons. News on the impact of our economic achievements is not properly spelt out but bad news spreads faster. What is the bad news, the political differences, which is normal?
  
We just had a joint tax board session, it’s a meeting where all the revenue agencies, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and other agencies that collect revenue for the federal government were in Rivers State. They enjoyed the hospitality and serene environment of the state, yet some people will say Rivers State is unsafe. 
 
Our local governments are working, we had elections here and local council chairmen were elected, and they are working. Some of the local council secretariats were attacked by the people we know. Aside from that, governance is top-notch. You were here when we went to showcase what we did for the Nigerian Air Force. We were also in Rumuolemeni to showcase one of the things we did for them and commissioned projects. We have projects in Etche, Khana, Opobo and several other areas across the state. So, the state has no issue.
  
Rivers State contingents went to the Abuja carnival, and we emerged first. The national organisers came here to present the award to us and spent some days in the state. In fact, they said, they have not seen such a level of security in other places. Some of the guys said they visited different places and clubs to enjoy the serene atmosphere. This shows that Rivers State is safe, the core issue now is governance and that is where we are.

After the state Economic Investment Summit, there were high expectations but we haven’t heard much after that summit, what is happening?
The summit was part of the events that marked our one-year anniversary where we showed the world the first picture of the state. I can beat my chest to say that we have never had such for the past 13 years. I said 13 years because at the end of the first tenure of former Governor Chibuike Amaechi, governance was smooth but in his second tenure, the political crisis began, it was more or less a fight for survival. So, attention was not given to economic issues in the state, it got worse with the past administration. 
 
Although the immediate past administration did its best in terms of road construction but not on direct investment, we didn’t have any record of that. So, we have to open our doors to let investors know that this government is friendly and willing to support investors in their businesses. 

What is the fallout of that investment summit?  
We created what we called the Rivers State Investment Agency, which became the office for investors to discuss and for assessment. For instance, Landmark has been given a place in Port Harcourt Tourist Beach to replicate what they are doing in Lagos. We have about two Israelis who are willing to invest, they have gone to Khana local council, where we used to have our banana plantation for assessment. Our equity is to give them the land and provide security and they are coming with their funds. So, we have an enabling environment for investment. If the environment is not conducive enough, they won’t come.

What is your motivation for changing the pitiable narratives among civil servants in the state?
On the welfare of our civil servants, I can’t help but intervene because I was one of them. I know what they have gone through for over eight years, no promotion, no incentives, no motivation, no payments of gratuity, etc. So, within my first six months in office, I effected a backlog promotion that was about eleven years. My wage bill at that time was N5.3 billion. You see, I don’t like talking because it looks as if you are trying to run down the past administration, which I was part of but sometimes, you need to say these things so people can understand. So, with our wage bill of N5.3 billion per month, if you are promoting people and setting up three promotions among a workforce of about 54,000, simple arithmetic, 15 per cent of that, how much will it be? We moved from N5.3 billion to about N8 billion. And presently, with the N85,000 minimum wage, which we have implemented even in the face of the political crisis, we are still paying salaries steadily.  
 
Our salary has now moved from N8 billion to about N13.2 billion. I have to do it because the most important thing is to pay them their salary and make them happy. I can assure you that the interest of workers will continue to improve. Indeed, we are committed to making the state better than we met it.

What are you doing to provide affordable healthcare for the people? For instance, the Peter Odili Cancer facility built by the former administration came with lots of fanfare but nothing is heard about it again, so also the cassava processing facility, what are you doing to ensure that it is put into use to address issues of food security in the state?
As of today, we have upgraded the cassava processing facility to an international standard. It is a joint project that is being supervised by the Shell manager. We just completed payment four months ago for the processing lines, which are working now. We are doing fantastically well on that project. It is a project that I inherited and because we are intentional about the importance of food, and agriculture, I didn’t joke about it, I have to put my all into it to ensure it is doing well. As of today, we have done the last line that gives certification for exportation. In terms of agriculture, we are not just doing it for feeding but also for exportation to increase our economic base. 
 
We already know where we are going, so we believe strongly that some of these projects will come on board gradually. 
 
Dr Peter Odili Cancer facility is a big elephant project. It is a wonderful project, built and commissioned but it is not functioning because the right things were not done. I have invited several investors who are willing to take over the place to come and manage it but when that project was conceived, there were no proper consultations with the right people who managed things like cancer. It was built out of specification. The truth is that there’s no way that facility can function, and I am not ready to spend billions of naira to remodel the place, not even now that we are looking for money.  
 
To ensure that we are committed to the health care services of the people, we are remodelling Bori General Hospital, we have Degema General Hospital to serve the people of Asari-Toru and Akuku-Toru Councils, Bori is to service my people, Opobo, Andoni, Gokana and Oyigbo councils that is the idea. Ahoada General Hospital is to serve Abua and others from Emohua. We have another one in Ogba Egbema/Ndoni Local Government. This will take care of the people there and others around the boundary of Imo State. We are putting the last touches on it and we are going to showcase it soon.  
 
We have a three-point agenda: healthcare, education and agriculture and I can tell you that in healthcare, we have done very well, we are among the best. Recently, Rivers State won a prize in health care, we are also putting great efforts into education. The last time education received serious attention in this state was in 2007 and 2011. After that, there was nothing. Between 2007 and 2011, schools were built in the state, but after that, there was nothing done in the education sector. But now, we are building schools with modern facilities because exams today are computer-based. We installed functional ICT with the internet so that the young ones can prepare for future exams. We are doing our best in education, healthcare and agriculture sector but for the cancer facility, I don’t want to discuss that,

What is your administration doing differently to stem oil theft, criminality and economic sabotage?
Economic sabotage is a big challenge in this country. It did not just start today but the only problem we are having now is that it has gone scientific. Fortunately, I am a member of the committee against oil theft because all the South-south governors are part of the committee. We have met several times, and we have discussed. This problem is not just about attacking people on the field, we have even gone further, we use systems like automated metering, though we are still waiting for the approval of the National Executive Council (NEC) and Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
 
But coming back to what I should do to support the federal government; we have our local vigilante that is also helping us. We are giving logistics support to the Nigerian Navy which is the closest agency that can battle the one of the lands. We donated six gunboats to the Navy to also support the fight against oil theft. It is not an issue of those people that are being arrested there, if you see the engineering work that goes on there, you will know it is a hi-tech involvement. So, there’s a need for a collective effort to fight this challenge because you know that this affects the ecosystem and the health of our people also. The youths that are involved in this thing, we are working on them, what they need is a total reorientation. It is a bad situation, but we are not going to use force, it is a gradual thing.

How do you see Rivers State beyond an oil-producing state?
I want to build a state that will not depend solely on oil. 
That is the reason we have the Investment Project Agency, It’s because we really have in mind that we need to expand the economy of Rivers State. We need to bring people to come and invest and when people start investing, two things happen – we create employment and our revenue increases. 
 
All our revenue improvements you have heard are not from oil, it’s from other economic activities that are taking place here, the comfort investors are seeing. 
 
People are coming back to Rivers State to re-open their companies and businesses, this means we are doing something right. Trans-Amadi used to be a dead zone but right now, it’s very busy, the whole place is being bought over, and you can’t even see a space there. We are moving out from concentrating our energy on oil, you can imagine what will happen when the agricultural sector picks up. I think we are on the right track, just give us a little time and we will take you on a tour to see what we have done.