July 12, (THEWILL) – On Friday, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government, to act swiftly to end the suffering of commuters at the Okogbe axis of the East-West road in Rivers State.
Governor Diri, who was stuck for more than two hours at the bad portion of the road on his way to the Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit in Port Harcourt, lamented that some commuters and vehicles had been in one spot for more than a week.
Speaking to journalists after an on-the-spot assessment, the Bayelsa Governor, said the contractor handling the culvert project lacked the capacity and should be sacked for causing pain to Nigerians.
He also called on South-South legislators in the National Assembly to make the issue of the uncompleted East-West Road a matter of national priority on the floor of the national legislature.
He described the situation as pathetic and unacceptable. Governor Diri said the road, which connects all South-South States, was too important to be left in such an impassable state.
He also stated that as the region that lays the golden egg for the country, the Niger Delta people deserve better than the pitiable situation on the road and urged the Minister of Works, Engr Dave Umahi, to visit the bad portions to see things for himself.
Diri recalled that the road was damaged during the 2022 floods, which also seriously affected Bayelsa, but that the state had within one year fixed all the roads destroyed in more than four local government areas and wondered why the federal government allowed the rehabilitation work on the East-West Road to linger for so long.
Speaking with Mr Kingsley Onyema, the project supervisor of the company handling the project, Rock Result, the governor questioned the rationale behind not making a section of the road passable for motorists rather than working on both lanes at the same time.
While appealing to people of the region to be patient, he dismissed claims by the contractor that drivers were impatient and urged the contractor to speed up the pace of work on the project.
He said: “It is chaotic, pathetic and unbelievable that this is happening to an oil-producing area that lays the golden egg for our country.
“The way forward is for the Federal Government to realise that an urgent step must be taken now. I commend the good intentions of the Federal Government but the Minister of Works needs to come here and see things for himself and not rely on information from the contractor. I have spoken to the Minister about this road.
“You are all aware that the same flood of 2022 damaged roads in Bayelsa and we have fixed all of them. So how come an important road like this will be in this bad state? I am pained.
“Let me appeal to Mr President to call all relevant officials concerning this road to ensure that the work is done to reduce the suffering of our people. From what I see, there is no plan on the part of the contractor and the company should be sacked.”
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
