The Rivers State Government says it has placed a temporary ban on protests around Isaac Boro Park and Government House axis in Port Harcourt from today till further notice.
Consequently, the government has warned any person or group of persons planning to protest in the state to drop the idea or face the wrath of the law.
The government, in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Barrister Emma Okah yesterday said “The ban is because reliable security reports show that such protests may be hijacked by hoodlums who are likely to inflict violence on innocent people and cause breach of public peace and order.”
The statement warned members of the public to heed the government’s warning, and remain vigilant and report suspicious characters to the police.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has expressed dismay over what it considers the “substandard quality of road projects executed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the state”.
The state Commissioner for Works, Hon. Dumnamene Deekor, who spoke with newsmen in his office in Port Harcourt, at the weekend, said the poor quality of road projects executed by the NDDC was an insult on the sensibility of Rivers people.
Deekor said the Federal Government has deliberately turned its back against Rivers people, noting that the state has since been denied of the presence of federal projects.
“The NDDC road projects in Rivers State lack required qualities and standards as they are more compromised projects lacking standards”, he said.
He said the terrain of Rivers State and other Niger Delta area requires that any project constructed in the area should be based on conforming standards for it to stand the test of time.
Deekor emphasised the fact that “Rivers State is not a dumping ground for substandard projects”, noting that the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has impacted positively on the lives of the people through the delivery of quality projects.
He regretted the fact that most of the interventions of the state government in terms of counterpart funding with the Federal Government were yet to be reciprocated.
The commissioner called on the Federal Government to refund funds expended by the Rivers State Government on the “rehabilitation, reconstruction and remediation of major roads leading to the economic base of the nation”.
Source: TheTide
