Adoye Iyalla, Port Harcourt
Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State has broken his silence on the reason why the shopping mall at Aba Road, built by his predecessor, Sir Celestine Omehia has not been put into use five years after his assumption of office in the State. Addressing the Press recently in Port Harcourt, Amaechi said though Omehia paid N2.5 billion of the N3 billion cost of the project, the contractor was still pestering his government for more money.
According to him, such whopping sum of money should have been enough to complete the project in record time. The governor however promised to sort out whatever problem exists the project execution and ensure the completion/utilization of the project, which he agreed could provide jobs for Rivers people if put to use.
On the delay in completing and allocating the Rumuwoji/Mile 1 market to the traders, even after the market was said to have been completed, the governor said he could not explain why the project is still lingering up till now. Amaechi quickly directed the question to the Commissioner for Works in the state, Victor Giadom to explain to the people the reason for the undue stagnation of the project.
Giadom said the project would unfailingly be completed and handed over to the traders in three weeks. He vowed to resign if this deadline was not met. But the three weeks have however lapsed and the traders are still trading along the streets.
Information that filtered into our newsroom indicates that the Works Commissioner visited the market afterwards and claimed that the project has been completed and that the contractors are now cleaning the stalls for consequent checking in by the traders.
He reiterated his resolve to quit if the vow was not redeemed. The governor has also threatened to close down all the abattoirs in Rivers State if the standard in operating such outfit is lowered.
He was reacting to a question that the existing abattoirs in the state are operating without vesturing doctors who are required to certify animals before they are slaughtered .
Amaechi said he has directed Obio/Akpo Local Government Council to build an ultra-modern abattoir for the state, after which all the existing ones will be shut.The governor also told journalists that the days of Silverbird Cinema at the former Obi Wali Cultural Centre are numbered unless they sit up and meet the contractual agreement of the deal.
Amaechi corrected the wrong impression that his administration paid a huge sum of money to the contractors handling the Sliverbird project. According to the governor, no money was paid to the consortium apart from the landed property;(and ) the state government can take over that land anyday, ‘’Amaechi declared.
