Ben Eguzozie

A New Yenagoa city, obviously meant to give fillip to development to the present water-sliced state capital, is still mired in some controversy, since 2012 when it was mooted by former governor Seriake Dickson. 

The area was initially designated as the tourism island, before rechristened as the “New Yenagoa City”. It spans from the Ekole River in the south to Igbogene in the north, from the Epie Creek in the east to Tailor Creek and Nun River in the west.

According to Furoebi Akene the then commissioner for lands under former governor Dickson, the concept of the New Yenagoa City indiocated that, the Epie Creek was to be dredged and made navigable with light boats operating for tourism purposes and developed, just like the role River Thames plays for Londoners. “This would have been replicated in Yenagoa,” Akene, who claims credit for the project initially called ‘Yenagoa Tourism Island’ “This would have attracted much tourism, hence the name tourism island.” He said in a recent note.

According to Akene, “with the approval of the memo, the governor directed the (then) Secretary to the State Government Prof. Edmond A. Allison-Oguru and myself to setup a committee to start the process”.

Controversy 

Akene went further: “What is now known as the new Yenagoa city was conceptualised by me as Yenagoa Tourism Island, when I was the commissioner for lands and surveys in the state. When the then governor Henry Seriake Dickson carved out the Ministry of Lands and Survey out of the then Ministry of Lands and Housing, and I was appointed as the pioneer Commissioner, I came prepared with all my professional experience, expertise and arsenals in development in the built industry, particularly in the field of surveying and mapping in the geospatial world.

“I was highly disturbed watching Yenagoa, the State capital, growing (I won’t say developing because what was happening was not development) in an uncontrolled haphazard manner, I came up with the idea of making a difference on the land across the Epie creek that has not been bastardized much, so that it enjoys controlled development to a modern city status. I submitted a memo to the governor His Excellency Henry Seriake Dickson, shortly after I was sworn in as a Commissioner in April 2012, which he graciously approved,” he said. 

He said, a committee was setup with high profile professionals in the built industry that cut across ministerial frontiers, headed by the (then) director of planning in the ministry of housing and regional development, Andrew F. Ebakpa. Others: Ere Efeke, Ezekiel O. Gunn, (Niger Delta University), Iniye Cole, Korutimi Amos, Amah Konuga, Ebikibina Kwokwo and Mrs. Ayibatonye Imolade-Adeh as secretary.

The former lands commissioner said, a survey and mapping was developed by Unitts Services Limited, which completed its job in 2015; but the firm did not get full payment upon completion and submission of the job before he (Akene) resigned as coomissioner in November 2015. Up till date, the balance has not been paid to the firm, despite series of letters to the governor, including the present governor through the SSG and the commissioner of the ministry to that effect by the consultant.

However, Kuroakegha Dorgu came out to debunk Akene’s narration as untrue, insisting that he it was, who initiated the idea of the Yenagoa city. According to him, the permanent secretary, and the director of lands briefed Akene on what was done and the way forward.

According to Dorgu, the surveyor-general’s office supervised the survey, with the comprehensive survey plans (topographic and as-built) are in the ministry and the office of the surveyor-general. “The survey covered from Ekole Creek to Igbogene, from Epie Creek to Tailor Creek and Nun River. I was properly briefed of what transpired when Seriake Dickson called for the New Yenagoa city project but I won’t delve into that.

Nothing yet on ground 

However, till date, no project design has been released by the government for the proposed city. Apart from the government’s recently approved N45 billion, as contained in the 2025 state budget of N689.44 billion, for construction of an ‘iconic new secretariat building’ in Yenagoa to accommodate government workers, with a projected completion time of 30 months, no other mention has been made about the new capital city. 

The N45 billion new secretariat project is for a new secretariat building designed to house government ministries and agencies that lack office space.

Other infrastructure spending in the 2025 budget include N16 billion for Yenagoa Phase 2 and 3 roads and N3 billion for the state independent power plant.