…As RSG denies accusation of sponsoring attacks on APC state secretariat
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Member of the House of Representatives representing Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State, Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante, has expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for taking concrete steps to immortalise King Jaja of Opobo.
He said this when the technical committee for the implementation of the King Jaja of Opobo Cultural and Historical Centre, Opobo, Rivers State was officially inaugurated by the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Bar. Hannatu Musa Musawa in her office, Tuesday in Abuja.
Abiante who was a lead lobbyist for the project it will enhance give exposure to and imortalize the great leader through deeper research, letting the world know the heritage of the people.
He said his people and Nigerians in general stand to gain a lot from the project.
The Rivers lawmaker said, “As a servant of the people, anytime you’re sent to do a job and at a point where there’s success, of course, you should be very happy, you should be elated. That’s exactly how I feel today.
“This is a project that has taken us seven years, when the other people who were there didn’t share the same vision with us, but we’re very happy. I am glad that a Minister came, bought into the vision and today, we’re starting the actual journey to making people know exactly what our intentions were, expanding beyond even what we’ve conceived. We are glad.
“It will lead to the imortalization of the great leader through deeper research, letting the world know who we are, bonding people together. It will also create jobs. Is it in the area of tourism, a lot. It will open that area up, we expect a lot to be achieved, a lot to gained.
“That axis will now become a hub of tourism in Rivers State and even in the South-South, if we harness the things that are there properly.
“We have the aquatic splendour behind the oceans, we have a neighbouring Local Government Area which have elephants, if those elephants are conserved at this period, you can imagine what that could bring to us. There’s the wide beach beside the Atlantic ocean, there’s a lot. What about the blue economy, it’s going to be a part of it”.
The Minister in inaugurating the committee said the project was key in the preservation of Nigeria’s cultural heritage.
“This project signifies a milestone in our collective resolve to take Nigeria’s Art & Culture to enviable heights. Permit me to add that one of the Ministry’s core mandates is immortalizing past heroes by promoting national heritage and values.
“Therefore, today’s event is a testament to our readiness to partner with any State, community, individual or group that desires to immortalize persons of proven capabilities whose immense contributions had helped in shaping and projecting the uniqueness of our cultural values, norms and artifacts as a people,” the Minister said.
According to her, the project as captured in its concept note, is designed to be a historic tribute to cultural renaissance as well as a clarion call for cultural preservation.
“It is a step to encourage our nation’s quest for cultural tourism and a boost for diplomacy in international affairs. I would like to reiterate that the establishment of the Centre is in tune with Nigeria’s vision of utilizing the Art, Culture and Tourism Sectors to create job opportunities for the teaming youth as well as contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
“ Similarly, establishment of Cultural and Historical Centres engender peace, unity, and national cohesion as well as mutual understanding among Nigerians and the International Community resident in the Country”, she noted.
The minister charged members of the Technical Committee to regard their selection as clarion call to national assignment.
“Let me remind you that you are expected to play critical roles in the realization of this onerous task at hand. Your assignment will require you to serve as liaison between the Federal Government (represented by the Ministry), the State Government and the Host Community.
You will also be required to come up with a Work Plan for the project and draft the strategy on the implementation, detailing the timeline as well as suggest other terms of reference that are considered germane to the success of the project”, she said.
Leading the Rivers State delegation was the paramount ruler of Opobo, His Royal Majesty, King, (Dr.) Dandeson Douglas Jaja, Jeki V, Treaty King, Natural Ruler, the Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom.
The monarch also ppreciated the federal government.
He said, “This is the time when God decreed that this project will takeoff because we’ve been agitating for the federal government to do something to immortalize King Jaja of Opobo for all his contributions to the emancipation of the blackman, and especially, the independence of this country. Save that in 1955, a merchant ship was named after King Jaja, but that merchant ship has been decommissioned.
“Since then, the federal government has not done anything to immortalize King Jaja, so this is the first time the federal government is taking steps to do something concrete in his name; build a centre where people will come, read about his contributions to commerce, his contributions to the defence of his kingdom, and the impact on Nigeria’s history.
“This is the fist time the government is doing this, and we’re thrilled.
On acceptability of the project by the people, he said “this is a project we’ve wished for, for over seven years, and it is a project that we really called attention of government to, and luckily, we’ve seen also the concurrence of our own state government, prepared for the imortalization of King Jaja”.
However, The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of allegedly sponsoring the attack on it’s party secretariat along Port Harcourt-Aba Road.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha made the accusation while briefing Journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday on the destruction of the party’s office.
Daily Champion had reported that some miscreants yesterday (Monday) attacked the APC office destroying the party’s billboards during the #EndBadGovernance protest in Port Harcourt.
Chief Okocha said the protesters after destroying the party’s properties dropped a note informing them that they would return for greater destruction on the secretariat on a later date.
The Rivers APC Boss who questioned why only the party’s secretariat was singled out for attack among other parties in the state, also condemned the destruction of properties by the irate protesters in other parts of the state.
“Yesterday (Monday), at about 5:00pm our secretariat, the APC Secretariat situated at 268B Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway was attacked by hoodlums and they left us with a note that they are coming back again. We don’t know whether coming back again will be today or in future.
“These hoodlums who vandalized our secretariat complex were arranged, sponsored by a source, which is the course of this our engagement, I will reveal. I will name the source; we are not scared to name the source because the situation has become so political.
“We have information that they had been paid to destroy our party secretariat. And who is paying them? They are being paid and sponsored by the government of Rivers State. Their interest, as far as we are concerned, is to make Rivers State the epicenter of the protest.
“We pre-empted them because we knew and we anticipated what they will do, but millions of those attacks will not stop us from speaking for the people of Rivers State. It will not stop us from being diametrically opposed to a governor and a government that is clueless. It can’t.
“And of course, you ask yourself; why is it that it is the APC office that was targeted for destruction?
The Rivers APC CTC Chairman also stated that it is not true that the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not address the burning issues and demands of the protesters during his nationwide broadcast on Sunday.
He said Tinubu has done a lot to change the fortunes of Nigeria and her citizens and has put policies in place to ameliorate every thing that has gone wrong over the years, adding that the wrongs of several years cannot be right in just 14 months of the current administration.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State government through the Commissioner of Information and Communication, Warisenibo Joseph Johnson has denied sponsoring protesters to attack the APC secretariat.
The Information Commissioner in a phone interview with our Correspondent said Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a peace loving man and can not sponsor such ugly act.
Johnson described the accusation by Okocha as false, balderdash, and baseless.
He said, “The Governor is too busy with statecraft and does not engage in thuggery, the Governor is a peace-loving gentleman, who does not believe in thuggery, if there are those who have it in their bloodline, you all know it. The Governor is too busy to bring himself down.”
