Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has pleaded with the Federal Government asking them to stop reducing their monthly state allocations.
Amaechi spoke to journalists whilst inspecting work on Elioparanwo and Ogbogoro Roads in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
He said the disputed oil wells ceded to Bayelsa, as well as theft of oil and revenue was responsible for the State’s dwindling fortunes.
Amaechi said, “The problem is the Federal Government; they have cut off the resources of Rivers State Government and Rivers people. They have taken away the oil wells in Soku and given them to Bayelsa.
“They have taken the ones between Oyigbo and Etche and given them to Abia. So, our resources continue to dwindle. We used to make between N19bn and N20bn now, we are doing N13bn.
“Last month was N15bn; we don’t know how much we will earn this month. We pray that it improves. That’s one; then two is the fact that the level of stealing in the oil sector is affecting the revenue in all the states. So, we don’t have enough.”
Speaking on his sommitment to deliver the dividends of democracy to the electorate, Amaechi said, “I’m paid to do this job. I’m employed by the Rivers people. So, I’m bound to deliver. The responsibility of a governor is to deliver on infrastructure, enhance the wellbeing of the citizens and ensure their security.
“You can’t have government money in your kitty and not be able to utilize it. You must deploy it to the development of the people. It’s about priority; what you choose to do,” he added.
He asked the people of the state to identify with the All Progressives Congress.
He said, “The people of APC are progressives. APC is progressive. All of us are progressives. So, you can’t like me and not like APC. Yes, they may like me for who I am but they should also like APC for the fact that we bring change. I represent change and I think that the people should also like APC for being a vehicle for change.”