State Commissioner of Housing, Engr. Basoene Joshua Benibo (middle) and a delegation of the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) during a courtesy visit to the commissioner in Port Harcourt
The Rivers State Government has assured that in spite of the distractions being faced by the Governor Siminalayi Fubara-led administration, there was no going back in its resolve to provide responsible governance and embark on projects and programmes that would guarantee sustainable development of the state.
Commissioner for Housing, Engr. Basoene Joshua Benibo, stated this when a team of the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), Rivers and Bayelsa Area visited him in his office in Port Harcourt, insisting that a new Rivers State is emerging under Governor Fubara.
He expressed the hope that no force can truncate what God is doing through the Governor and it is on course, maintaining that the governor means well for the state and urged the people of the state to support and pray for the government to overcome all the opposition it has been facing.
Benibo, who described his emergence as a member of the State Executive Council (SEC) as divine, urged all Rivers people to continue to diligently serve God who has a way of rewarding people for their sacrifices of love and commitment.
He commended the Bible Society of Nigeria for their work and encouraged the members and leaders to continue to make use of their talents in propagating the work of God and be ready for the unprecedented benefits and rewards in due time.
Earlier in his address, Chairman, Rivers and Bayelsa Area of BSN, Mr. Omoni Ayo-Tamuno, said they visited the commissioner to congratulate him on his appointment and to thank the governor for finding him worthy to be part of his government.
He said the Bible Society of Nigeria is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that copies of the Bible get to everyone in society, especially by translating the same into different indigenous languages.
Ayo-Tamuno, who disclosed that his organization has successfully completed the translation of the Bible into Okrika, Kaana and Kalabari languages in the state, said it is presently working on Eleme Language Bible, while trying to review and republish the Kalabari Bible into one that will contain the Kalabari and English languages in one book.
He also revealed that the BSN has a language laboratory in Ibadan, being the first of its kind in West Africa, adding that translating the Bible into indigenous languages will help to preserve the culture of the people.
He stressed that some of the indigenous languages in Rivers State were already going into extinction and that the work of the Society in translating the Bible will help in taming the languages from going extinct.
Ayo-Tamuno used the opportunity of the visit to call on the state government to partner with the Bible Society of Nigeria to distribute copies of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible to pupils and students of primary and secondary schools across the state.
A highpoint of the visit was the presentation of materials and BSN calendar to the commissioner and prayers for the commissioner, Governor Fubara and the entire state.
