Emmanuel Masha 
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has expressed the determination of his administration to boost agricultural activities in some parts of the state to fight hunger and guarantee food sufficiency.
Fubara gave the assurance at the official flag-off of the 12.3 Kilometres Egwi-Afara-Mba Road project in Etche Local Government Area on Wednesday, adding that the reconstruction of the road is preparatory to the planned effort to increase commercial agriculture in Etche land.
Fubara also stated that the gesture of the road construction, in part, is to express his gratitude to the Etche people for their support and firm belief in him and his administration.
He said: “Thank you for believing in us and thank you for still standing with us. Our thank you will not be limited to the construction of roads alone. Our thank you will still extend to the development of your people: manpower development.
“This is because, if we finish (complete) the road project, and we don’t have the right manpower, the rightful employment opportunities and proper engagement of our youths, the road will still be useless. So, we are not going to limit it to just the road, but we will bring agricultural development to Etche, knowing fully well that Etche is the food basket of the State.
“So, what have come to do this afternoon is to do the preparation. This road is part of what we are going to use to transport those Agricultural produce that we are going to generate here.”
Fubara urged the people to give the contractor all the necessary support to ensure that the project is achieved within six months, explaining that, should there be a need to extend the completion timeline of six months, it should be because the road has been stretched beyond its current length to link Etche to Imo State as already requested by Ochie of Etche Ethnic Nationality, His Eminence, Eze E. M. B. Opurum.
He said, “So, I hereby direct the Hon Commissioner for Works to extend this project as requested by the Etche people. I am also aware that, once a good thing is about to come, there will be sabotage. You don’t need to fall into that trap. At the end of the day, this project belongs to the Etche people. It doesn’t belong to Fubara.
“I am not doing it with my money. It would be wrong to say I am doing it. The Rivers State Government, under my administration, is executing this project. So, it is not about me, it is about the people that we are serving. It is about the legacy we are leaving behind, and it is about the people that we are going to make happy when we leave the office.”
He explained that the policy of his administration is not to glorify in mere flag-off ceremonies but to ensure that the projects are executed, completed, inaugurated, and actually put to use, noting the importance of the road and the significant benefits it affords all Etche sons and daughters, including those opposed to his administration.
Fubara said: “This road will cut across and even in front of the houses of those who want to kill us. But this will be to tell them that the things that others couldn’t do for them, we are not looking at their faces but doing it. What we are doing is for the people of Etche”.
Flagging off the project, former Governor of Rivers State, Sir Celestine Omehia, expressed delight for being the person to make history by laying the foundation stone for such infrastructure development in rural communities.
He asserted: “Etche is the cassava belt of Nigeria. The highest quantity of cassava produced in Etche and Ikwerre put together can feed Nigeria as long as it can.
“Your Excellency, one other thing that we can understand is that even the palm trees planted in the area by SIAT Nigeria Limited (formerly Risonpalm Company) are also important to the economic growth and development of Nigeria.”
