Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has emphasized the need for the state thanksgiving and dedication service to be gazetted as an annual event in the state.
He said the annual event will pave way for Ministers of God to intervene in the administration of the state through continues prayers and thanksgiving to God.
Speaking on Monday at the 2014 Rivers State Thanksgiving and Dedication Service at the Main Bowl of the Alfred Diette-Spiff Complex in Port Harcourt, Amaechi urged Ministers of God and Rivers people to be persistent in prayers to put an end to the political crisis rocking the state.
According to him, “shortly after I took over office in 2007 my wife has been worrying me to set aside a day for Thanksgiving and Dedication Service to God. So, I want to charge the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to Gazette every 27th January of every year to be set aside to glorified God and dedicate the state to God Almighty, believing that even after my tenure of office, the event continues as a custom.
“I thank the Ministers of God for their continued prayers. Rivers people must join the men of God and Christians to stop the thieves from coming back to power. This is the time men of God must go back to their knees to pray and protect the state from selfish and self-serving politicians in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)”, Amaechi said.
Governor Amaechi also decried some of the wrongful measures taken by the Federal Government against the State resources, especially the ceding of oil wells in Soku community and Etche in the Akuku-Toru and Etche Local Government Areas respectively to Bayelsa and Imo States.
He equally expressed huge disappointment over the inability of the Federal Government to release the Word Bank loan approved by the National Assembly to enable the Rivers State Government provide portable drinking water for Rivers citizens.
“It is true that virtually everything we have, the PDP has taken them all, especially the 41 oil wells in Etche and the oil wells in Soku Community. Poor people at the rural areas cannot drink potable drinking water, must our people suffer such pain. You must pray to stop them from coming back, so that our state can be safe”, Amaechi noted.
Amaechi while recalling the recent violent attack in Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area by hired political thugs against the rally organized by the Save Rivers Movement that is saddled with the responsibility of sensitizing and mobilizing the there was need for Rivers people to resist the evil machination of greedy politicians against the interest of Rivers people, especially the upcoming election in 2015.
“If you recall what happened at the rally organized by the Save Rivers Movement in Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area, where hired political thugs resorted to violence, you will agree with me that we are going back to the days of shooting and maiming of innocent citizens in the state. So, we must stand up and face them by voting them out in the upcoming 2015 election”, Amaechi said.
“I met the former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd), who asked me of what motivated me to take the model schools to the village children to be trained. And I said, I am addressing poverty, because it is now a place of learning where the rich man’s son or daughter will meet the poor man’s son or daughter, and I see it as a eradicating poverty in our society. We have also built primary healthcare centres to take care of the health needs of the poor”, Amaechi said.
