Wike Is Building Port Harcourt City To Reflect Status As Oil, Gas Capital Of Nigeria Says SSG

Dr Tammy Danagogo, Secretary to the Government of Rivers, has stated Gov. Nyesom Wike’s desire to build a Port Harcourt City of the future to befit its status as the `Oil and Gas Capital of Nigeria’.

Danagogo, who made this known in an interactive session with journalists in Port Harcourt, said the state government had already provided critical infrastructures, including good roads and multiple flyovers, to provide the interconnectivity to make Port Harcourt the 21^st Century City.

According to him, Governor Wike’s administration is also looking ahead to make the state capital to look like what Texas and Houston is to the United States of America.

“My people perish for lack of vision. What the governor is doing is what Rivers State should be in the next 10 years. He is looking ahead to make the state capital look like Houston, Texas of America. We are the highest oil producing state in Nigeria; the oil and gas capital of Nigeria.

“They hold international oil conference in Abuja rather than the oil capital. These flyovers are not enough. Port Harcourt needs more flyovers; we need more interchanges to have express movement to key areas of the city.

“We are building a city where people will in future have seamless drive from the Port Harcourt International Airport to any part of the city. Wike is transforming Port Harcourt and also the rural areas of the state.The governor initiated good projects for the people to transform Port Harcourt because you cannot transform Rivers State without, first of all, transforming Port Harcourt, the face of Rivers.”

Danagogo also said that it was hard to understand the mindset of critics of governor Wike’s developmental initiative and urban renewal programme of his administration.

“What kind of Port Harcourt City do people who are complaining want? My joy is that right thinking people appreciate Wike’s vision because he has a great vision for the state. My view is that only visionless people will be criticising Governor Wike’s flyovers are expedient. He is doing critical infrastructure in critical areas,’’ the SSG said.

He also lauded the state government for providing logistics an enabling environment for security agencies’ personnel to operate.

Danagogo said that the Security Summit that was discontinued due to COVID-19 pandemic would be revived.

“Governor Nyesom WIke of Rivers State has done well in areas of security. He is the Chief Logistics Officer rather than the Chief Security Officer in the state. He does not waiver in his support for security agencies.

“He does not have the authority to command these security personnel but he has done excellently. He inaugurated Operation Sting, a security outfit, during his second tenure.

 “He provides the logistics, buys them vehicles. On a monthly basis, he supplies them with diesel and petrol. He buys gunboats for them. The security situation in the state has tremendously improved. We have been able to maintain a high level of security,” Danagogo said.

He said the state government would revive, through Public Private Partnership (PPP), most state-owned ailing industries in Rivers to make them profitable.

Danagogo urged those providing emergency services such as the Fire Service in the state to be patriotic.

“Emergency services require patriots. If everybody handles their jobs well things will be better. Fire trucks are provided but patriots are needed to man them. Our governor is not short of the courage to do the necessary things. But you must be able to use what you have to achieve results. If you don’t like your job; don’t do it,” Danagogo said.