…As Information Ministry Partners NTA

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike is focused on sustainable development of infrastructure that would continue to be beneficial to the State in the years to come.

The State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim stated that these infrastructural developments were part of a holistic vision of creating an enabling environment for the State to meet the demands of developments coming the way of the State.

Nsirim made this known today when the Management Team of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Port Harcourt Network Centre, led by its Zonal Director, Bosede Adebayo, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Port Harcourt.

“If people knew that Rivers State would be like this, be congested this way, I think there would have been a ring road or some other thing by now. So, he (Governor) has envisioned that in the next five to ten years, because of the kind of investment flow that is coming in here now, Rivers State would need the right infrastructure to accommodate it. So, he’s building infrastructure for tomorrow”.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Soibi Max-Alalibo, the Commissioner regretted that many people who do not understand the Governor politicize everything he does.

“There was a time they politicized that they were demolishing peoples’ houses.  But the houses that were demolished, compensations were paid to those who were affected”, he said.

He called for the strengthening of the existing relationship between the Ministry and NTA, emphasizing the need for the station, which represents the Media, to spearhead the need to let the world have the true picture of what Rivers State stands for.

“Rivers State is blessed to have a visionary leader now, a man who has come to really define governance. I say that with a very strong sense of responsibility because we have seen leaders come and go. That passion to develop Rivers State and make it the destination of choice is what we see in Governor Wike every day.

“We believe that the various media houses need to join the RSG to project the State as a destination of choice.

“We say proudly that we have what it takes: we have the right leadership, we have the right infrastructure, we have a welcoming environment, we have a culture that is second to none, and here remains the headquarters of the hydrocarbon industry. We have all it takes for investment, and we will join NTA to be part of the narrative that will position Rivers State as the destination of choice”, the Commissioner explained.

To do this, he continued, “We need to set an agenda for Rivers State, and the issue is, if you live and do business in River State, we have a shared prosperity to protect. As Zonal Director, if River State is doing well, it will reflect on the revenue you make, it will reflect on your personality. So, we want everybody to understand that we’ve gotten the right leadership, we need to come together to support that leadership.

The narrative out there is that this is a no-go-area. But we understand the political economy. People would want to make Rivers State look bad so that some other areas will benefit from capital flight and all that. But we’re saying ‘no’.

The time to change that narrative has come, and we’re lucky we have you now at the Zonal Network headquarters.

Help us, with your team of dedicated professionals, to design programmes that will help to project the interest of Rivers State, help us to design programmes and projects that would project the image of Rivers State.

Earlier in her speech, the Zonal Director of the Port Harcourt Network Centre of the NTA, Bosede Adebayo, explained that the reason for the visit was to congratulate the Commissioner on his appointment, and pledge the station’s loyalty to work with the Commissioner and the State Government. 

Our coming today is twofold: to congratulate you, and secondly to pledge our loyalty, to say to you that the NTA is there for you. I also want to thank, through you, the State Government for patronage given to my team, and like Oliver Twist, to say please we are available, at the shortest time we are ready to give you the best of our services.

“Our facilities have also been improved upon to make sure that we do not disappoint you. So, we look forward to doing business together, not only business together, we are ready to support you and your initiatives, and every other thing that you would want us to do”, she said.

In order to boost the synergy, Adebayo stated the need for the State to have a programme that would showcase the activities of Government and its agencies that should have a feedback from the people.

“We believe RS should have a programme on our channel, possibly every week, let it run for 30 minutes, highlighting the activities of the various agencies, and what the government wants the people to know. There should be a forum for a feedback”, Adebayo added.

In the entourage of the Zonal NTA boss were managers in the station, while the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ibiwari Clapton-Ogolo, and Directors in the Ministry were also present.