The Rivers State Government is to buy a helicopter at the cost of thirty million US dollars which is equivalent to about four billion, eight hundred million naira, Governor Rotimi Amaechi said in Port Harcourt on Wednesday evening. He spoke at a session he held with youths in the state at the Government House.
Amaechi's announcement was greeted with loud murmurs of protest from dozens of the youths. Amaechi however said the helicopter is specially equipped with a camera which will be used for aerial security surveillance across the state.
He said, "The helicopter has a camera and it will be flying round for security surveillance. When there are armed robbers, the camera will focus on them and even if they enter into any house the helicopter's camera will capture the house and will be trailing the armed robbers until security men track them down." He said his government is determined to sustain security in the state even though it is an expensive venture.
Speaking on education, Amaechi also said the Rivers State government will be spending one hundred and fifty billion naira to build a new campus for the existing Rivers State University which will be moved in its entirety from Port Harcourt town to a new area. He said the billions will be spent because the government plans to build a world class university with good office blocks, hostels for sixty thousand students, houses for all staff and model classrooms with internet facilities connected in every part of the university.
The governor also said the government will be constructing three farms worth twenty billion naira, each of which will be run by 100 farm families. The multi billion naira farms, he said, will be built by an Israeli company and each will have houses for the families and model schools for their children.
Even as Amaechi was unveiling his multi-billion naira plans, the Plateau State Government yesterday signed a N4.4billion contract with Eagle Construction Limited for the construction of a new government house in Jos.
Signing the contract on behalf of the government, Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Professor Shedrack Best said the new government house will be situated at Little Ray Field area in Jos South local government area of the state. He said the project is in "consonance with the ten point ten agenda of the administration."
The SSG said the Jang administration is convinced that "we need a modern and befitting government house." He said the state has never had a proper government house since its creation in 1967. He said the present government house in Ray Field was formerly a presidential lodge which was later converted to government house, adding that it no longer meets with the requirements of a government house. The other government house at Jishe is "simply a lodge," he said.
Best added that upon completion, the project will serve as an edifice that the people in the state will look at with pride because "it will be second to none in the country". According to him, the new government house will encompass the governor's residence, first lady's office, a banquette hall, series of government offices and auditorium, among other features. The SSG described the project as "a peoples project" and urged people in the state to treat it as their own and visit the site of the construction whenever they feel like.
Accepting the contract, Director of Eagle Construction Limited Noca Gaicoto said the project will be a first class one upon completion. He commended the state government for entrusting them with the contract. The completion period for the project was put at 36 months.
DailyTrust