The Governor, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said the advisers would play a pivotal role in the administration.

He said: “In addition to the 14,000 advisers, Governor Wike has also appointed 319 Ward Liaison Officers and 40 Local Government Area Liaison Officers. The appointments are with immediate effect.”

The Governor on March 1 declared that henceforth his administration would focus on welfare and empowerment schemes popularly called stomach infrastructure.

He said having spent the better part of his administration providing physical infrastructure, he would direct his attention to the politics of stomach infrastructure.

He said: “Now that we have done virtually everything we have promised Rivers people, this is the time now we have to play politics of stomach infrastructure”.

Most people believe that the massive appointments were part of the governor’s efforts to empower residents.