Globally, the will to maintain continuity, direction, and positive impact has proved to be the bedrock of developed nations.
A similar model and pathway are about to be replicated in Rivers state, where Siminalayi Fubara, the PDP’s governorship candidate, is about to receive the leadership mantle from his principal, Nyesom Wike, the executive governor of Rivers state who has had a positive impact on the former’s career and also shaped his future political pathway.
Wike has overseen and been directly involved in the development of many projects in the state, and Fubara has been at his side, not only as his financial administrator but also as a subconscious political student grasping principles that made Wike into the grounded political colossus that he is today.
Fubara has been able to observe Wike’s strategies and the effects of his projects first-hand and has been able to learn from his successes and shortcomings. This has enabled him to gain a deep understanding of political principles and the dynamics of the political landscape in the state.
As such, in the coming weeks, Fubara will become a beneficiary of Wike’s political goodwill in Rivers state.
With his experience as a former Accountant –General of Rivers state, he is well on a high pedestal to continue the good works already visible in Rivers state.
A peep into his family and educational background gives insight into the persona that Fubara exudes.
Fubara, born in Opobo Town in Opobo/Nkoro local government area of Rivers State on 28th January 1975, is an accountant and a technocrat who rose to serve as the Accountant General of Rivers State.
SIM enjoyed a long, meritorious career in the state civil service, gradually rising through the ranks until he was appointed the Accountant General of the state in 2020.
His service career which spanned a total of 18 years began in 2003 when he was appointed as a classroom teacher by the Rivers State Post-Primary Schools Board, and posted to the Comprehensive High School, Alesa-Eleme.
He taught there for five years and transferred his service in 2007 from the Board to the Ministry of Finance with the rank of Senior Accountant.
He was Senior Accountant before being promoted as Principal Accountant. He was later promoted as Chief Accountant, Assistant Director, Deputy Director and Director. He became Permanent Secretary, then rose to the pinnacle of his career as Accountant General.
SIM has a Master of Science Degree in Finance and a Master of Business Administration, both from the University of Port Harcourt Business School. He also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology.
He has a degree in Business Education with a specialization in Accountancy from the former Rivers State University of Science and Technology (now Rivers State University).
He attended Comprehensive Secondary School, Opobo, obtaining the West African School Certificate in 1992, and Opobo Primary School where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1986.
His professional qualifications/affiliations include Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Management (FNIM), a Fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (FCNA) and a Fellow, of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (FCTI).
In addition to the aforementioned, he has attended several professional conferences, seminars, workshops and training programmes. These include Federal Government of Nigeria National Training Workshops on Public Finance Management at the Federal Treasury Academy, Orozo, Abuja; Rivers State Ministry of Finance Training Program on International Public Sector Accounting Standards and Financial Euromoney Training; and Rivers State Government/Transglobal Business Solution Limited Training Workshop on Development and Performance Measurement in Rivers State Public Finance Sector.
All these achievements put him in a vantage position to achieve the mega city status Rivers state is already being built into courtesy of Mr Project, Nyesom Wike who has been working tirelessly to ensure that the state becomes a force to reckon with at home and abroad.
For Sim, carrying on with the legacies and achievements of Nyesom Wike will be his utmost priority.
According to the PDP Gubernatorial candidate, his number one plan would be to establish industrial hubs in each of the three senatorial zones of the State when he becomes Governor, saying that his administration would also give a premium to human capital development.
Continuing, Sim Fubara says he would sustain the peace and security in Ogoniland and focus mainly on creating more jobs for the teeming youths of the state.
The Opobo-born politician has promised to harness human and capital resources to serve the people of Rivers state.
With the benefits of hindsight let’s take a look at a few of Mr. Project’s achievements and the continuity and legacies that will be followed by his prospective successor, Sim Fubara of the PDP.
Rivers people are aware of the achievements of the incumbent governor over the construction of over 500 roads, the repositioning of the health sector through the building of more health centers at the grassroots, and a free health policy for children below 18 years and adults above 65 years of age and all these are what SIM has vowed to continue.
In addition, 5,000 youths are now being recruited into the Rivers state civil service towards reducing youth unemployment, in sports, the Real Madrid Football Academy has been established to combine education and football towards addressing youth development and grooming of future stars.
In the health sector, there is now a Mother/Child Hospital to address antenatal and pediatric health issues while a Cancer/Cardiovascular Disease Centre is about to be established in Rivers state.
The last six years of Governor Wike’s administration have flown by with astonishing speed, but one enduring constant in the passing years has been his bold, firm, courageous, determined, and unwavering commitment to selfless and patriotic service and all these will be followed suit my SIM.
The roadmap to kick-start the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Rivers State had been laid down in the inauguration address on May 29, 2015, and in a similar fashion has been handed over to SIM Fubara as a template to work on.
In protecting and defending the interest and welfare of Rivers people, Governor Wike became a legendary example for his fearless commitment to always stand on the side of the people as their champion, and his humane and benevolent spirit, especially for Rivers people has been unparalleled in the last eight years, hence his resolve to anoint a man who shares same beliefs and ideologies that will continue to put the state among the best in the country if not the best with aim of improving the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state that will eventually rub off in terms of physical developments and benefits to the people of Rivers state both home and in the diaspora.
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