THE RIVERS STATE

ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM

of
Chief Ezenwo Nyesom Wike

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The RIVERS STATE CORPORATE SECTOR

INTRODUCTION
Looking at a graph of internally generated revenue for River State can be
quite deceptive. At first glance it would look like we are growing as the figures

Internally Generated Revenue for Lagos & Rivers Sate

500.00

are increasing over the past few years. However, two things quickly dispel the

400.00

illusion that we are doing well.

300.00
200.00

1. Comparing our internally generated revenue to that of Lagos shows

100.00

that we do not earn up to half of what Lagos State makes.

0.00
2010

2. Comparing our growth rate to that of Enugu and Lagos shows that

2011
LAGOS STATE

while they have grown 56.34% and 51.62% respectively, we have

2012

RIVERS STATE

managed a modest 43.60%.

% G ROW T H I N I N T E RN A L G E N E RAT E D RE VE N UE
Consider also that most of our revenue is
tied to our Statutory Allocation, Mineral

LAGOS

RIVERS

Fund (13%) and Excess Crude Oil Funds

and that with a drop in production and
with prices crashing from $109.45 per
barrel in 2013 to about 44.38 this year- we
are in for some very dark times indeed.

40.00%
20.00%
0.00%
-20.00%
-40.00%

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ENUGU STATE

60.00%
40.32%

42.95%
39.57%
24.61%

13.29%
8.32%

13.71%
7.50%

2011

2012

-21.06%

2013

2013

2014

When you put all these together they tell you two things
1. This administration did not do as well as they want us to believe they did.
2. With over N200 billion naira borrowed to fund projects (combined with the present exchange rate), we are facing
an economic crises as a state..unless something is done about it.
How do we pay Civil Servants? Develop our state? What are the options available to us to fund our programs? We can
increase taxes but that would be disastrous. Why would you say you want to create more jobs but then take away the
ability of employers to pay their employees by reducing the amount of money available to them? Why would you want
to increase poverty by increasing the burden of an already burdened polity? No. Raising taxes is not the answer.
Should we borrow money? That is frivolous and irresponsible living. This present government has already borrowed over
200billion naira. A debt we are going to inherit and we are paying interest on.
Allow me to show you a better way.

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

We need to be pro-active and quick thinking. We need to read the signs of the times and think strategically if we are to
overcome the looming economic downturn and accommodate the rapid population growth we are facing.
The concept of Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) comes from USA, where it was originally used as a joint public-and privatesector funding scheme for educational programmes. From the 1950s it started being used to fund programs to provide

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utilities for communities and has now come into wider use and as public-private joint ventures for urban renewal. This is
the key to a transformed Rivers State.
Innovation from the private sector can be extremely beneficial in this process by leveraging their know-how, experience
and the capabilities of ICT to make all the systems used to supply this state with services that are smarter, more efficient,
and more effective. We can explore service models that have proven to be
successful in corporations and other enterprises and make them work for us.
History has frequently shown that PPPs can improve urban living through
collaborations that combine innovative efforts from the private sector,

Economic
Transformation

forward-thinking policies from government, and support from non-profit

organizations. We can do this here in Rivers State. We can transform this State

Empowerment

Systems Improvement

Infrastructure

SCIE

Commerce

PPP is the engine that will power our transformational economic program:

System
Improvement

by forging PPPs that encourage new ways of doing things.

Commerce
Infrastructure
Empowerment
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Public Private Participation

(PPP)

SYSTEMS Improvement
We can save a whole lot by more efficient use of our

Should we borrow money? That is frivolous

resources. How government goes about its business

and

of

government

is

key

to

the

on-going

irresponsible

living.

This

present

transformational agenda of Mr. President. Our vision

government has already borrowed over

is to ensure that we provide affordable housing for

200billion naira. A debt we are going to

everyone, that we dispense justice equitably and

inherit and we are paying interest on.

uphold contracts to make for sustainability.

Improving our systems is more than just the quantity
of schools or hospitals or government policies we

pass. This is about the quality of our education system, the quality of service you get from your health centres/hospitals,
how efficient we are in bringing the government to you. PPP in these areas does not erroneously imply that costs
automatically go up rather; it does ensure that the quality of service you get does. Some of the critical systems we will
look at are:
Health: The World Health Organization (WHO) and a private company came together to develop a new anti-malarial
medicine and to address issues posed by its deployment in the field. In Gujarat, India a PPP between the government of
Gujarat and private-sector gynaecologists was formed to remove financial barriers so that poor women can access
quality healthcare facilities. We can do all these here in Rivers State.

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Security; How can we attract investments if we cannot guaranty our investors of their safety and that of their investments?
We have had this present state government blame the federal government for the security issues and as much as it sounds
unreasonable we can understand where the paranoia is coming from. Instead of fighting the Federal government
however, we plan to take the bull by the horns and stop this cankerworm from destroying our image as a peace loving
state and people.
PPPs with the police force are happening all over the world, In Canada, the province (state) of Toronto has the Toronto
Association of Police and Private Security, or
TAPPS which is an official public-private
partnership of the Toronto Police Service (TPS)

With over N200 billion naira borrowed to fund projects (combined

and operating as a non-profit organization in

with the present exchange rate), we are facing an economic crises

the City of Toronto. The partnership provides

as a state..unless something is done about it.

active support to municipal, provincial, and

federal

law

enforcement

officers,

and

members of the safety and security community in order to establish for their clients and citizens a high quality of life and
safety in the Toronto Area. TAPPS facilitates education, training, information, and intelligence sharing in partnership with
the Toronto Police Service to mobilize public and private sector entities to keep the City of Toronto safe and secure. Our
plans for Public Private Partnership will focus on:

Information Sharing.

Training

Crime Control and Loss Prevention

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Investigations

Resource Sharing

All-Hazards Preparation and Response and

Research, Policy Development, and Legislation

Not only do we plan to bring back the sense of security to our citizenry, but the huge allocation to security vote in the
budget can be channelled to areas that need it more. From 2008 to 2013, N46 billion naira has been passed as security
vote. What has the security vote secured for us?

COMMERCE
There are over 14 state owned/co-owned businesses that are lying moribund or not working efficiently. Do we sell them
off like this administration has been doing or do we get people who can run them so we can get dividends on our stakes?
How much have we lost in poultry farms that are not operational, breweries that are not operating at peak efficiency,
distilleries that are not producing and a rubber plantation that could fetch in millions and yet is a shadow of what it should
be? All state owned assets will be made operational within the first year of our tenure so that jobs will be provided and
income generated.
In this drive to improve commerce, agricultural activities would be funded to allow subsistence farmers move into
commercial production. Biotech Brinjal is a PPP that uses technology donated by private-sector developers to local
researchers in India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines to improve eggplant productivity and yields. Something similar is
happening In Ethiopia, where Private sector researchers teamed up with the University of Bern in this PPP and established
a project to improve yields of the cereal grain teff, which is an important staple in Ethiopia.
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The Chambers of Commerce deserve special attention because they are a powerful
tool in the PPP drive and are being underutilized by the present government. Close
ties will be forged with the Chambers with regard to finance and policies.

INFRASTRUCTURE
Infrastructure investment is very important to modern economy as they provide a
backbone for other production and consumption activities in the economy. Of great
concern to us is not just the level of government spending on infrastructure but also
efficiency of the investments. Infrastructure investment will only spur economic growth
if it is allocated to high-value projects and constructed in a cost-effective manner.
Instead of continuing the cycle of waste and inefficiency, misallocated funds based
on politics, and projects getting weighed down in mismanagement and cost
overruns, we are looking to PPPs to transform our infrastructure. We are also
developing a State Infrastructure Plan to provide a framework to identify and prioritise
the infrastructure investment needs of the State, and to facilitate their delivery. Our

SOLVING THE POWER RIDDLE

We do not have to go too far to find out PPP
can work for us. For as far back as the early
80s the people of Obio/Obie in Ogba
Egbema Local Government Area have
enjoyed electricity more than 80% of the
time? How? Because for the joint dealings of
The Nigerian-Agip Oil Company and Total
carried out as part of their Corporate Social
Responsibility. The area is powered by Gas
Turbines, free of government interference.
What is stopping this model from being
replicated?

focus would be on power, transport, ICT and intellectual capital.

The concept of design-build-operate-transfer-style of private-public partnerships has been gaining a lot of popularity
around the world as being a very effective way of delivering large-scale infrastructure projects.
By introducing competition and market forces into the procurement of public infrastructure we will be able to make the
decision making more accountable, contribute to greater technological innovation, and reduce the potential for
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construction-cost escalations that consistently have beleaguered transportation projects. The city of Beijing used the PPP
model in the building and operation of the citys fourth subway line spanning 28 kilometres and has 24 stations.
Power deserves special consideration and is one of the critical areas we are focusing on as soon as we are sworn in. We
know that in Nigeria, the current electricity supply is 80% thermal with the remaining 20% being majorly Hydro-electricity.
In Rivers State, 100% of Electricity generated is thermal. This leaves us at the mercy of gas constraints which are known to
constantly disable thermal power production. We cant continue waiting for outside help and if we are going to move
our state forward, then we must take the initiative and innovate. We have already began discussions with companies we
will partner with to bring in alternative, green energy to enable us build a hybrid system relying on differing sources of
Electricity (E.g., Wind + Thermal + Solar + Nuclear) and similar to the ones in countries like the UK, Germany, France and
the US. We already talking to investors interested in building wind farms offshore in phases of 25Mw over a period of 4
years. Apart from the fact that this would provide the much needed energy, it has the rollover effect of providing jobs for
those who would be trained to assemble, operate and maintain the wind power system.
ICT: In India, PPP has helped start the e-Mitra project that the Indian state of Rajasthan and local service providers
undertook to deliver e-government services to Indian citizens via dedicated centres and kiosks. In Egypt they have a
technology park called Smart Village that is a result of a PPP between Egypts Ministry of Information and Communication
Technology and a private consortium. The park is designed to remove obstacles for ICT firms investing in the country. We
can leverage ICT projects not just to improve our processes in government but also be able to be the first state with a
practical and efficient e-government system that will allow everyone participate. We would be able to send out e-forms
and other information all over the state and obtain feedback from everyone- open, accountable and inclusive
governance.
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EMPOWERMENT
We Riveriens are proud people and will always be. We dont beg for hand me downs and it is not in our nature to wait for
anyone to allocate stuff to us. We have been a central hub for all kinds of economic activities before independence
and the glory of those times shall return. What our government will do is to empower you- give you everything you need
to be able to increase your earning power, innovate and improve the quality of your life. There are a lot of opportunities
around us waiting to be exploited and we want to support anyone who has ideas and needs support.
Education: Schooling and education is, in general, largely provided and financed by governments, but unmet demand
for education coupled with shrinking government budgets requires that public sector organizations develop partnerships
with the private sector if educational needs are to be met. We will build more schools, especially in the rural areas but
most importantly, ensure that they are up to international standards.
Entrepreneurship/Access to Finance: One of the key drivers of this transformed economy will be the Micro Small and
Medium Scale Enterprises. Working together with Chambers of Commerce, Microfinance Banks/Institutions and
International NGOs, we aim to empowering new businesses to drive this economy.

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CONCLUSION
This is not about me. This is about us. It is said that To whom much is given, much is to be expected and a lot is being
expected from Rivers State but unfortunately, we have been found wanting. Time has come to change all that. Change
is possible through the NEW RIVERS vision.
I want your views on how we can make Rivers State number 1 in Nigeria. Your ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism
will be much appreciated. Remember that Rivers State belongs to all of us.

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