The re-appointment of most commissioners who served with Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi in his first tenure has drawn the anger of the Rivers State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Reacting to the confirmation of the recent 10-man list submitted by the governor to the state House of Assembly, the ACN in a statement signed by its publicity secretary, Jerry Needam faulted the development as lacking in vision and goodwill for the millions of qualified and capable Rivers sons and daughters who have not had any chances of serving their state.
The ACN wondered what interest and foresight Governor Amaechi has in recycling political appointees with abysmal performance so poor in his first tenure who failed the state beyond pardon, with several questionable dealings, clear instances of fraud and disservice to the state.
The party particularly lambasted the governor for returning the former health commissioner, Dr Sampson Parker to his cabinet despite his numerous atrocious manipulations of the health ministry and failure to implement any government policy to a logical and successful conclusion.
The ACN not only called, therefore for a re-examination of the appointment, but a comprehensive probe of the commissioner’s misdeeds of the past years, especially on the Justice Karibi-Whyte Specialist Hospital and other scandalous contracts to Clinotech Nigeria Limited which only sieved billions of the state fund into waste pipes without one benefit for Rivers people.
On the state of the Braithwait Memorial Hospital (BMH), the ACN questioned Governor Amaechi’s satisfaction with the persistent decline in the hospitals capacity to tackle the health problems of the people, while infrastructure and facilities of very high standard put in place at the hospital progressively deteriorated to the shame they are today, all under the tenure of Dr. Parker as health commissioner in the State.
To crown the era of gross abuse, the ACN noted, was the US$20 million fumigation programme which the commissioner in his first tenure promised Rivers people to rid the Port Harcourt City of mosquitoes.
The ACN noted that, not even the World Health Organization (WHO) would make such promises or engage in such deceitful, utopian programme, adding that there are now more mosquitoes in Port Harcourt than was the case when the promise was made.
The ACN, therefore urged Governor Amaechi to initiate an urgent judicial probe into the fumigation programme to determine what became of the huge amount sunk into it, as this is the only way to restore the people’s confidence in his leadership of the State.
Jerry Needam, JP
Publicity Secretary
Action Congress of Nigeria
Rivers State
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
