By Ogochukwu Isioma
Ahead of the May 29 inauguration of Siminalayi Fubara as Governor of Rivers State, a constitutional lawyer, Dr Silva Opusunju, has charged the Governor-elect to work towards providing good governance to improve the lives of the people of Rivers.
Opusunju spoke recently when accosted by METROWATCHXTRA.COM’s correspondent on the policy and programmes which the Rivers-born lawyer would want Fubara to prioritise within his first 100 days in office once he hits the ground running.
Fielding questions from the journalist, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Opusunju called on the governor-elect to take his ‘Consolidation and Continuity’ Agenda as his covenant with the people of Rivers as from May 29 when he would be sworn-in.
The erstwhile Director of Finance and Administration, Obasanjo Campaign Organisation, advised the incoming Rivers State Governor to pick and assemble the “best hands” in forming his team or cabinet within the first 100 days in office.
“Political appointments should not be for those who are driven by desperate desire for the fame that such positions confer on occupants, but for those who have the zeal and hunger for service to the people,” Opusunju noted.
The former Rivers governorship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urged the incoming governor Fubara to sustain the development in the state civil service, road infrastructure and human capital development.
He said gender balance should also be considered in making appointments as appointees must represent and reflect Rivers’ diversities and complexity, to enable the citizens continue to have confidence in the new government.
Opusunju urged the Governor-elect to take the industrialisation of Rivers State — as contained in his Agenda — as one of his top priority projects in order to revive industries in the oil-rich state, including the Trans Amadi Industrial Layout, and concentrate on bringing back the garden city’s lost glory.
The legal luminary further urged Governor-elect Fubara to sustain some of outgoing Governor Nyesom Wike’s projects that are impactful to the lives of the citizens.
He tasked the incoming Fubara-led government to design programmes that will touch the lives of the masses and the youth by the time the administration clocks 100 days in office.
Such programmes, he argued, could include the provision of basic amenities such as portable water in rural areas, and the renovation of schools in the various wards and local government areas across the state.
Others, he said, could include the rehabilitation of primary health care centres and provision of Health Insurance Scheme, rehabilitation of any deplorable road, implementation of ICT/tech innovations programmes and establishment of empowerment and skill acquisition centres for increased productivity and employment.
“Also, the upgrade of existing security structures or creating new ones to ensure law and order in the state, while vesting these bodies with information-gathering systems that police and security agencies would use to secure lives and properties.
“Again, the incoming governor should create structures that would make the youths participate in the process of governance, as leaders of tomorrow and partners in progress. Besides, the link created by youth engagement would surely absorb the shocks of ‘unpalatable policies’ that are good in nature.”
Opusunju counselled Fubara to stay away from the temptations of “winners-take-all”, a tendency he said could breed unnecessary rivalry and “run-the-government-down” mentality.
He tasked the Governor-elect to strive towards uniting the people of Rivers, irrespective of their political affiliations, to create a peaceful atmosphere to galvanise good governance.
“Fubara’s well-deserved victory bestows a degree of trust in his capacity to lead Rivers in a most genuine, purposeful, and committed manner to engender speedy economic growth and wellbeing of our people.
“We expect His Excellency, the Governor-elect to swing into action immediately after his inauguration on May 29 in tackling lingering issues and frontline challenges in the state.
“The Fubara-led administration must work to deliver on its electoral promises. Only projects that touch the lives of the masses should be targeted. The people should feel the impact of governance.
“Monday May 29, 2023 will mark a watershed in the political trajectory of Rivers State. It will mark the end of one administration and the beginning of another. We wish Rivers State the best as we move on in democratic stability,” Opusunju concluded.
