By Kolawole Ojebisi
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that he is averse to using fights to resolve fights but an advocate of peace who weaponizes Artificial Intelligence to defeat troublemakers.
Fubara noted that he does not belong to the category of politicians who settles scores by denying communities of their detractors the dividends of democracy.
Fubara made the remarks at the formal inauguration of Eze Oha Apara Palace for Eze Worlu-Wodo, the Paramount Ruler of Ekinigbo and Eze Oha Apara IV in Rumuigbo, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area on Thursday.
Eze Wodo, who is the chairman, of Rivers state Council of Traditional Rulers, also led other prominent Ikwerre traditional rulers to confer on Governor Fubara the traditional title of Enwa Gbaga Nu Ohna (The moon that shines in Ikwerre land).
The governor stated that his political mindset appreciates the fact that while disagreements cannot be avoided, denying any section of the state requisite public amenities or government support cannot be reckoned with because it is public funds that will be spent on Rivers’ people to better their lives.
He was speaking in response to insinuations in some quarters about his execution of projects in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, given the fierce political antagonism staged against him by some political leaders.
He said: “Like they said, if it were in other cases, I wouldn’t be interested. No, no, no. I don’t play politics that way. He’s our chairman, he’s from Rivers state, and whatever we are doing, it is not my fund; it is the resources of the state. We should apply it for the betterment of our State.
“The only thing I will ask you in return is to continue to support this administration. Be law-abiding. That is the only way we can get more progress and development into your communities.
“No matter the level of provocation, try to control your temper. We don’t use fights to resolve fights. You use peace, apply it well using the Artificial Intelligence method to defeat troublemakers.”
Fubara expressed delight to have accomplished the palace for the good people of the Apara Kingdom, which stands as proof of the recognition and respect shown to the traditional institution in the state and described the palace as a beautiful symbol of the respectable status that kings of the State should have to hold their place of pride among their peers.
He noted, “As the Senator said, we came here, and we saw that this place was still under construction, and we felt if our chairman of the Council of Traditional Rulers should have an event and invite his contemporaries from other states, he doesn’t need to bring them to Government House, he needs to have a befitting palace.
“We know what happens in other places. When you are having meetings with traditional rulers, and you go to other states, you see wonderful palaces of the Traditional Rulers. So, I think it is right for us to start beautifying our traditional rulers so that people will see them and take them seriously.
“So, what we are doing today is adding another feather to the Eze Oha Apara, a feather by having a befitting palace.”
Fubara said his administration is also constructing for the people of Obio/Akpor, an ultra-modern General Hospital, which will be the first in the area; an upgraded Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital that will enable the state to tackle mental health-related challenges, and explained that his administration is building and furnishing a palace for the Akpor King and his people, which will be inaugurated soon.
He said, “So, chairman, as we inaugurate this wonderful palace, we are not ending it here. We want to make sure that because of the support that I can feel here, all the bad roads here, we are going to reconstruct them.
“So, it is an addition to what we are doing here today. You can feel our love for you in several ways. We are building a general hospital for you, which you don’t have, you know it. We are also upgrading the Psychiatric Hospital to a modern one that can stand the challenges that are ahead of us.
“We are not just ending there, you know, we are building a palace. Maybe, by the special grace of God, by February next year, we will be going to inaugurate it for His Royal Majesty of Akpor. It is a show of love and the importance that I attach to the Obio/Akpor people.”
Fubara assured that his administration would continue to address their socio-economic needs while they continued to support his administration and charged the people to protect the palace because it is now a communal legacy that will be used by successive royal fathers.
Performing the project inauguration, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi-Otu V, the Obong of Calabar, natural ruler, treaty king, and grand patriarch of the Erik Kingdom, said Fubara has distinguished himself with such identifiable gesture done for the traditional institution, stressing, “This is what we expect of successive administrations to realize that they are running a relay race to develop the institution where they find themselves at any given time. Your Excellency, you have done well, and I must say, we are proud of you.”
