The Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of Rivers State, Dr. Enyiada CookeyGam has said the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, is using the State’s resources and funds to aggressively develop the people and the rural communities.
He noted that the emphasis is currently in areas where such development had eluded the people since the inception of democratic rule 25 years ago.
Speaking with newsmen in Port-Harcourt on the rumour that instead of using state funds and resources to develop the people, the Governor is using the resources to recruit hoodlums and bombers, the CTC boss said it is untrue and baseless.
CookeyGam, who debunked the rumour, said it was the opposite, and that the Governor was effectively utilising state resources to build roads in the rural areas abandoned by successive administrations to the detriment of the masses.
He explained that the Governor, apart from building roads and other infrastructural transformation in the state, also cleared huge debt of salaries and its arrears owed Rivers workers, retirees, and also promoted Civil Servants in the state.
He continued to say that the Governor has also been empowering Rivers youths, women, the less privileged in the state, among others, via skills acquisition programmes for them to be selfreliant in various fields of endeavour, noting also rhat over N4billion was released for disbursement.
“The truth is that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has never misused or tampered with state funds and material resources on meaningless jamboree. Rather, his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, used state resources and funds to donate to the northern and other states in his quest to become the running mate to the PDP Presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in order to woo the northerners and others for support, to become Vice President that failed to see the light of the day”, he said.
He stressed that the former Governor doled out a whopping sum of N500 million as part of his support to Sokoto state market inferno under the administration of Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal as Governor.
“Nyesom Wike was the one that had misused our resources to support other states, and deadly activities while Rivers people are dying of hunger, hardship, poverty and deaths.
“It is on record that for the past eight years, Rivers State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was at N12 billion, but as of today, the amount has drastically changed from N12 billion to over N28 billion, meaning that the dispensation rough-handled our resources and funds to stupor.
“As far as we are concerned, the people’s Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, remains the political hero and leader of Rivers State.
“We need Godly leaders like Siminalayi Fubara, who stands by his word in the morning, afternoon and night. God brought him to clean the development and political mess of the Nyesom Wike – led administration in the last eight years of dictatorial governance”, he stated.
Dr.CookeyGam, a grassroots mobiliser and political gladiator in the LGA, called on the Governor’s detractors, such as the factional leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, and other Abuja-based sponsors to “desist forthwith from negative and unfounded bias and rantings against the Governor”.
He warned Okocha to “concentrate on his representation of the people well on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), where he is expected to drag viable, people-oriented development projects and programmes for those he claimed to represent.
“Since Tony Okocha became member on the Board of the NDDC, he has not been able to attract tangible development projects and programmes to the state, talkless of scholarships, grants, and other empowerment largesse to both the students and youths”.
Dr. CookeyGam warned that any attempt to distract Governor Siminalayi Fubara in his quest to build bridges of “human-faced” development for the people will be revisited.
“Enough is enough of such irrelevant, irresponsible and unjustifiable rascality. When all Rivers people are expected to join forces to work with the present government to move the state forward developmentally, Tony Okocha and his Abuja connections are busy misleading their followers on make-belief destructive politics that would do nobody any good”, he concluded.

Bethel Toby