The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has set forth his vision to diversify the state’s urban landscape, promising to create multiple cities to attract increased investments.
Fubara made this statement while touring the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority office and project locations within Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday.
He reiterated that his administration is firmly committed to building upon the agency’s foundation and enabling the establishment of more cities in the State.
‘I can assure you that in our time, we might not achieve the dream of that big city in four years, but we will add a few things that would also help us in getting at that target.’
‘This is because, we are thinking of decongesting the present one city-state that we have, which is Port Harcourt and Obio Akpor.’
‘We are thinking of developing other parts of the state and our coming here is to see what the agency has been doing, what you have done already, and what we can also do to make us achieve more new cities in our state.’
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The governor affirmed that, despite the agency’s challenges, if their development goals align seamlessly with those of the state government and they collaborate effectively, his tenure would yield remarkable results.
Thus, he tasked the agency with implementing the self-sustaining provisions stipulated in the establishment law to make it an attractive proposition for investors.
In his speech, Desmond Akawor, the sole administrator of the GPHCDA, pointed out that the agency, established under the Greater Port Harcourt Law in 2009, has encountered impediments in fulfilling its mission of creating more cities, primarily attributed to its operational framework and the nature of its Public-Private Partnership model.
Akawor, holding the position of both the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party and sole administrator of GPHCDA, elucidated that a fresh legal framework, originally set in motion by the prior GPHDA board, has been refined under the current management and is ready for submission to the governor to support the agency in accomplishing its objectives.
He stated, ‘I’m sure that with your directives, we will be able to reschedule some of the projects so that we can move forward with all of our partners, especially in the area of reforming or strengthening the public-private partnership arrangements.’
‘We believe that when that happens, we will look at other towns in the state in the Rivers West, Rivers East, and Rivers South East and be able to have even development in our state.’