by Peter Odili *An Autobiography by Dr. Peter Otunuya Odili HOW IT ALL STARTED: THE PLOT-THE GREAT GANG UP I, DR. Peter Otunuya Odili, became the elected Governor of the new Rivers on the 29th day of May, 1999, after a well contested and won election against a strong opponent Chief Ebenezer Isokariari who was the then immediate past Secretary to the State Military Government under Gen. Sani Abacha regime. With my team of appointees, we set out on a “Restoration” agenda in fulfillment of my campaign promises – “Letter to Rivers people.” We made a success of the programme and the details of our performance are set out elsewhere in this „book‟. The highpoints were that in 2002 a team of over 500 journalists in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information under Prof. Jerry Gana, after inspection tours of executed projects by State Governments across the country declared Rivers State the best performing State Government and Dr Peter Odili was presented with the Gold Trophy as the best performing-Governor in Nigeria. The trophy was presented by the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar on behalf of President Obasanjo. No other credible contest has taken place since then. Free school bus scheme We built 1200 low cost houses across the State in our first 100 days in office in 1999. We introduced „Free School Bussing Scheme‟, free education at primary and secondary levels, and free medical treatment for under 6 years and over 60 years. The other high point of our first term was the commissioning of the first independent power plant, Trans-Amadi Phase 1, designed, built and made operational by any State Government in Nigeria under the Obasanjo administration. The commissioning ceremony was performed by the President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on the 2nd of October, 2002. This plant brought 36 Mega Watts of electricity into the national grid.
Issuu converts static files into: and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.