Rivers assembly approves Wike’s N20bn loan request

The Rivers house of assembly on Tuesday approved a request by Nyesom Wike, governor of the state, to obtain a loan of N20 billion for the completion of ongoing road projects and commencement of new ones.

Ikunyi Ibani, speaker of the assembly, justified the approval, saying it would help deliver “quality service and dividends of democracy to the people”.

“The governor will not deliver dividends of democracy to the people of the state without funds,” he said.

“There is no leader that can deliver dividends of democracy without funds even if he had promised heaven on earth for his people.

“Our emphasis here is not on the first 100 days, but delivering quality leadership and infrastructure to the people.

“At the end, we will be able to walk on the streets with our shoulders high that we have achieved better policies for the state.”

Ibani said the decision of the governor to continue with projects not awarded by his administration shows that he is honest and accountable.

“He should be given every support to carry out such projects for the benefit of the people,” he said.

Martins Amaewhule, leader of the house, said some roads were in bad shape and constituted death traps to the people of the state.

He said the welfare of the people should be paramount to achieve development.

“Most of these roads are located in the revenue generating areas of the state and should be fixed to derive more income to the state,” he said.

He expressed support for the approval and the repayment of the loan through internally generated revenue of the state.

Jones Ogbonda, one of the lawmakers, said the completion of the roads would put smile on the faces of the people.

Ogbonda said the approval would help the government to speedily fix the roads and reduce the rate of crime in the state.