Another round of battle now looms between the Rivers State House of Assembly and the state governor, Sim Fubara. Speaker of the assembly, Martins Amaewhule set the tone for the fresh war when he publicly attacked the governor what he called the poor state of public primary and secondary schools in the state.
He made the observation during the Assembly’s sitting last week. Ironically, the speaker never ever rebuked the immediate past governor and FCT minister, Nyesom Wike either in public or privately throughout Wike’s time in Government House.
The latest attack on the governor came at a time that the citizens are still urging the Assembly, believed to be largely submissive to Wike, to give the governor the needed support to enable him move the state forward, after the emergency rule regime.
Amaewhule, who looked visibly angry and determined to throw more punches at the governor, wondered why the governor allowed schools in the state to decay, especially since the administrator that ran the state for six months under the emergency regime, Ibok-Ette Ekwe Ibas, left behind about N600 billion for Fubara.
But Amaewhule has not been talking about the probe of the Ibas government which the Assembly under him vowed to undertake. The speaker had issued the threat on the first day of their resumption from the emergency rule suspension.
Fubara in stylishly responding to Amaewhule’s insinuations, said the schools did not just decay within the period of his reign, inferring that under Wike, the schools had decayed but the speaker lacked the courage to talk about it.
While addressing traditional rulers in the state on Monday, Fubara admitted that many schools across the state were in bad shape but stressed that the deterioration predated his government and was one of the major issues used by opponents during the 2023 election campaigns.
The governor said his team was working strategically to reverse the decline, noting that his background in public administration guides his approach to planning and reform. On healthcare, the governor pointed to the ongoing upgrade of zonal hospitals and other interventions in the healthcare workers welfare as evidence of improved service delivery in the sector.
Speaking on employment, Fubara said the government remains committed to creating jobs but insisted that recruitment, including the anticipated 10,000 openings, will be based on the needs of the state. He assured that the exercise will not be politicised.
Monday’s meeting, which was the 3rd and 4th combined session of the year and the fourth since he assumed office, also provided an opportunity for Governor Fubara to commend traditional rulers for their role in resolving the political impasse that once threatened stability in the state.
He said their intervention helped maintain peace in their domains, contributing to the largely calm atmosphere currently enjoyed
