Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has hinted that the lack of transparency in the administration of Governor Nyesom Wike has hindered the execution of a water project for Rivers State worth $200 million.
Amaechi, dropped the hint while speaking as a guest lecturer at the 46th University of Port Harcourt Founders Day Celebration on; ‘The Role of Transportation in Nation Building’ at Ebitimi Banigo Hall, UNIPORT.
The Minister said as Governor of Rivers State, he had secured the counterpart funding of the $200 million water project for the state.
He claimed that the multi-billion naira water project which was meant to be executed with contributory funds from the World Bank, the Federal Government and the Rivers State government has stalled because the Wike-led administration sought to manage the entire $200 million.
According to him, “In Port Harcourt and Nigeria men don’t respect themselves because they don’t live on production; they just put anybody as governor. They will sing his songs and the foolish man won’t know that they would sing that song for anybody.
“Let me give you an example, I got the Federal government and World Bank to give us a loan of $200million to do water in the whole of Port Harcourt. The World Bank awarded the contract by themselves and I didn’t interfere.
“The contract is not done till today and the loan is still there. Why? Because they (Wike government) want to award the contract by themselves; $200million.”
Rotimi Amaechi also disclosed plans by the Federal government to establish a Multi-Disciplinary University that will be sited in Ubima Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“We already have a Transportation University being built in Daura. So we have decided that the Portugese Company in charge of Kano-Maradi rail line, Mota Engil will build a Multi-disciplinary University in Rivers State as a major component of their Corporate Social Responsibility,” he said.
The Rivers State Government is yet to react to Amaechi’s claims.
