Rivers State governor, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, has accused the Federal Government of abdicating its responsibility of projects execution in the state because the state does not matter in its development programme.

The governor stated that his administration has taken over Federal government’s responsibilities in Rivers State, not because it has excess resources, but because it is committed to the rapid development of the state.

Wike spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt during the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the National Industrial Court which will be funded by the state government.

He said, “All the facts point to the fact that Rivers State does not count in the development programmes of the Federal Government. And this has sadly been the situation for decades.

“Yet, we produced the bulk of the resources that are sustaining the entire country and funding multi-billion naira development projects in other states of the federation.

“And so, our position is that, while we shall continue to demand for a fair treatment and commensurate recompense for our contributions to the national pool of resources, we cannot but endeavour to put our development destiny in our own hands, even if it means spending money on projects that should be initiated, funded and maintained by the federal government or its agencies.

“The point needs to be made that we are taking these important steps and bearing such huge costs because of the need to create, recreate and reinforce the enabling social and economic environment for the continuous development of our state.

“It is not because we have too much money to throw around on federal projects; it is because of our love, passion and commitment to develop our State, because we realised that the federal government has since abdicated its development responsibility to Rivers State.”