Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya’s Previous-circumstances

Source: Dr. Brian Wilfred

During the inauguration of the care taker committee of the Rivers State Action Congress (AC) on September 11 2008, the National Vice chairman in charge of South-South zone of AC, Prince Austin Eweka advised the members to ensure that they bring out the true AC spirit in them. Prince Eweka promised that AC in Rivers State would continue to give Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi the needed support and commended him as a true democrat. He applauded Governor Amaechi for appointing AC members as commissioner and Special Adviser in his cabinet. He hailed the Commissioner for Urban Development Osima Gina and his special Duty Counterpart Davies Ibiamu Ikanya for standing firm and not losing their identities in the course of projecting the party. “Thanks to the March, 2008 intervention of the national office of the Action Congress, AC into the crisis that rocked Rivers State chapter of the party, through a delegation led by the party's national organizing secretary, Goddie Ikechi, peace has finally come to stay in the party”..



Before the dissolution of Amaechi's cabinet recently, Dr. Ikanya is among the commissioners in the Amaechi government the Rivers AC paraded with and has been proud of. Osimah Gina Commissioner for Urban Development, one special adviser for inter party affairs- Echendu W. Igwe and a member of the Board of Governing Council of Rivers State University of Science and Technology Suage Badey. After the CTC was inaugurated for the state AC under the leadership of Suage Badey from Gokana Local Government Area of the state, the party is as well moving.


During when a 60-storey Transcorp Hilton hotel was to be built in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after the then State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ogbonna Nwuke has announced that the hotel which would be located at the site of the state transportation corporation, Waterlines junction in Port Harcourt would be run by Transcorp Hilton Corporation, Nigeria, Dr. Ikanya said the council appealed to the people of the state to be cautious in their handling of combustible materials such as fuel, to avoid fire disaster, as well as become more safety conscious in their daily activities.


On 20th June 2009, the Publicity Secretary of the Rivers State Action Congress (AC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze in a press release applauded the reappointment of eight out of the 24 members of the dissolved Rivers State Exco recently and said the dissolution did not come to them in Rivers State AC as a shock as they have proven themselves as men that can be entrusted with the leadership of the State. Their zeal for service and patriotic spirit as fellow vision carriers with Amaechi, they exhibited high levels of commitment in their various ministries, working towards articulating the Governor's vision for the state.


In his approach, Chief Eze sees Barr. Osima Ginah, Commissioner for Urban Development, as one of the exports of Rivers State AC to the Amaechi's administration, has established himself as a tour de force within the administration and has successfully carved a niche for himself. It was Vice President Goodluck Jonathan who during a luncheon in honour of late Senator Melford Okilo captured Ginah's essence in his Ministry when he stated thus; “The fact remains that Rivers State has become the cynosure of the world due to its Urban Renewal agenda and demolition exercise. If the tempo is sustained, in ten years time, Rivers State will become a reference point in how a modern city should be. This embodiment of selfless service and fearless administrator has turned himself into an agent of change in the State and in the minds of many as being described as the bulldozer and the face to articulate Amaehi's dream for Rivers state”.



But in the case Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, erstwhile Commissioner for Special Duties, Chief Eze said Ikanya is a God-fearing, gentle, a great administrator and a wonderful Ambassador of the Opposition in the last Cabinet. Though yet to be reappointed, it is noteworthy to mention the strides he made while in office. Apart from ensuring proper execution of his Ministry's Mandate, Vision and objectives, he is credited with initiating a number of bills which if passed into law would change the face of Fire Services delivery in the State. Dr. Ibiamu spearheaded the resettlement initiative for displaced Rivers State indigenes displaced during the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon. His model is presently being studied by International Organizations as a blueprint for such exercise in any part of the world.



Dr. Brian Wilfred writes from Port Harcourt