President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has described the Dr. Nabo Graham Douglas Campus of the Nigerian Law School, built, furnished and handed over by the Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike’s administration as a grand wonder, structured to be self-sustaining.
The president noted that the project, among several others, is no doubt an abiding testament to the commitment of governor Wike to the promotion of law and development in Rivers State and beyond.
President Buhari spoke while inaugurating the Dr. Nabo Graham Douglas Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Port Harcourt on Friday. He was represented by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.
“I need not engage in poetic verbosity to properly describe the grand wonder that is being commissioned today. The icing on the cake is the fact that this edifice and its state-of-the-art facilities are structured to be self-sustaining through, associated revenue earners, as designed by a man of higher vision who is now fondly referred to as Mr Project.”
President Buhari said he was aware that governor Wike extended development initiatives to the neighbouring Bayelsa State, by executing multi-billion-naira projects that included a 900-bed space hostel and 1,500-capacity auditorium, in the Yenagoa Campus of the Nigerian Law School.
This, he noted, is in addition to the provision of critical infrastructure support extended to federal courts in Rivers State, over the years.
“These are indeed pace-setting and unparalleled contributions by a State Government to what is ordinarily under the remit of the Federal Government.
“Governor Wike’s dedication to these projects is better appreciated from the viewpoint of his being an unrelenting advocate of true federalism in Nigeria.”
In his speech, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike said that sequel to his request for approval to build a law campus in Port Harcourt and subsequent approval given, he is today most delighted to have delivered the facility, completed within 10 months.
He stated that the contract for the project was awarded to indigenous contractors, who handled each of the structures under strict supervision, costing the State government about N17 billion.
Governor Wike revealed that one of the reasons why his administration has been able to embark on several projects is because President Buhari had graciously approved the payment and release of unpaid 13 percent derivation deductions since 1999 to all States in the Niger Delta.