Politicians have been warned to keep off from jobs meant for the town planners.
In a chat with journalists during the World Habitat Day celebration at Delta Hotels in Port Harcourt on October 1, 2012, a university Don, Dr. Miebaka Aprioku, lecturer with the Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, who was a guest speaker at the ceremony, expressed worry that most jobs meant for the town planners were awarded to politicians who are incompetent, thereby making the system useless and rendering the professionals jobless.
According to him, planning has to be done by the professionals and not politicians, stressing that it should be given to the professionals who know the job to do a thorough work.
Dr. Aprioku debunked insinuations that the Greater Port Harcourt City initiated by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is a failure, pointing out that the project is a success.
According to him, apart from Abuja, there is no part of the country where the government of the state is developing a city, adding that the Greater Port Harcourt would help in decongesting Portharcourt and develop new towns which are in progress. He commended governor Amaechi for his wonderful initiatives.
On the waterfronts demolition, Dr. Aprioku noted that the waterfronts are not habitable, stressing that the government wanted to ensure that they are habitable and urged the professionals to partner with the government, letting them know the happenings at the Bundu waterfront and other waterfronts in the state.
Similarly, Sir. Chief Arch Boma Braide, one of the guest speakers at the ceremony, commended governor Amaechi for his Greater Port Harcourt Initiative stressing that he has done what other governors could not do.
According to him, although HRM Alfred Diette Spiff, the first military governor of Rivers State, tried in his administration by building Presidential Hotel, Secretariat complex among others, he did not initiate the idea of Greater Port Harcourt, stressing that the chief executive officer of the state was doing it in order to decongest the state and develop other towns which would make life easier for the residents of the state and enjoined the people of the state to support him achieve his desire.
On the Independence day celebration, Architect Braide stressed that Nigeria is progressing as many good houses have been built and construction of roads unlike before.
Also in his contribution, Sir. Obinna,. a director in the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development, noted that the ministry which was created few years ago is an intervention agency to actualize the new Greater Port Harcourt.
According to him, “as a matter of fact, the project required team work, we need to put our resources together and assist the government to actualize the project,” adding that the only challenges encountered by the ministry is finance and that the government is doing its best on that regard. ###
Emeka Jilly Ejiowhor
