From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has revealed that his predecessor and current Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, worked hard to truncate his confirmation as minister by the Senate.
Wike said that,though Amaechi nominated him for a ministerial appointment, he was not Amaechi’s preferred candidate.
The governor made the disclosure in his acceptance speech yesterday, after he and General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), former head of state, were conferred with honorary doctorate degrees by PAMO University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), Port Harcourt, for their distinct contributions to the development, peace, democracy and general good of Nigeria. The event marked the first convocation ceremony of the university.
He said the government and people of Rivers State were delighted with the establishment of the medical university, and the vast opportunities it has availed youths in the state to become highly educated and skilful medical professionals and practitioners.
He said the state government has maintained and sustained a close, symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship with the university from its inception to date, by identifying with and contributing materially to its steady growth and progress.
His words: “Back in 2017, we instituted a special public scholarship, covering tuition, accommodation and feeding to encourage our indigenous students to take advantage of the university and become graduates and professionals of the areas of interest.
“We have religiously implemented this scholarship progrmme for four consecutive years with almost 600 beneficiaries as at the last academic session.
“Today, I am very pleased to note that all the graduating students of Rivers State origin are scholars of the Rivers State Government educated and trained with public funds.
“In addition to the scholarship, which now costs well over N2.9 billion to implement annually, we have also made several generous financial donations towards the infrastructural development of the university.”