Previous governor left N225.279bn debt for me – Fubara

Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the former Rivers State governor has revealed that his administration inherited a huge debt burden from the previous administration of Nyesom Wike.

According to Fubara, under his watch, the Rivers State Government has awarded nine new road projects, valued at N534.332billion but he inherited 34 uncompleted projects, valued at over N225.279billion spread across 13 local government areas of the State.

The Governor also berated the political crisis that was waged against his administration, just three months after resumption on May 29, 2023.

The Governor stated this while presenting an Account of Stewardship and Scorecard to mark One Year Anniversary of his administration at Dr Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, May 29..

The Governor said: “We started this journey with a bang. We were focused. We were determined to make the change we promised with a sense of urgency.

“But then, somehow, we suddenly found ourselves in the cesspit of crisis barely three months into our tenure. It was not just an ordinary political crisis. It was a vicious existential crisis.

“But thank goodness, the worst is over. We have successfully defended our rights and opportunity to govern our State and advance its progress in freedom, and we will continue to prevail.”

He added, “For us, any government worth its name must be accountable, responsive, and responsible for the security and well-being of the people.

“Having managed the affairs of our State for one year, including dispensing public resources, it is only proper that we render account with a public presentation of our performance record.

“I am, therefore, pleased to stand before you to present our Scorecard for the first year we have been in office as the Executive arm of the Government of Rivers State.”

“We also needed to attract investments into the State and increase our internally generated revenue base as too much reliance on federal allocations was a challenge to the realisation of our development goals.

“We, therefore, set up an IGR/Investment Advisory Committee, which is helping us to navigate our course for increased economic investments and internally generated revenue to accelerate economic growth, create jobs and advance the welfare and well-being of our people.”