A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Royal Ladies Association of Port Harcourt, has lamented the deplorable state of roads across the South-South zone of Nigeria despite the claims of various administrations that trillions of naira has been spent on the various highways.
In a statement on the state of the roads in the South-South zone and signed by the President, Mrs Franca Ikechukwu; Secretary, Mrs Destiny I. Winston; among others, the group urged the Federal Government under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately reorganise the Ministry of Works and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency with a view to repositioning them for the onerous task of fixing all the dilapidated highways in the zone.
The statement also admonished the Buhari administration to without further delay, undertake the immediate repair and expansion of major highways and interstate roads in the zone in particular and Nigeria in general.
It also urged the Senate, especially the Committee on Works to embark on audit of all road projects in Nigeria with a view to producing real data for necessary legislative action.
The body stated that the nation did not feel the impact of the trillions of naira spent by the Federal Government since 1999 to date on roads construction and management.
It however, said that many parts of South-South zone had been cut-off with its negative impact on trade and commerce.
The organisation said the poor state of the roads in the South-South zone in particular and Nigeria in general had contributed to the lack of development of the economy.
The body further explained that there was need for concerted efforts to ensure that factors responsible for poor condition of roads in the area were tackled.
“We must also look at the contribution of private sector as well as the quality of contractors who handle road construction and rehabilitation”, adding that”for Nigeria to develop, we must begin to look at why we find ourselves in this situation”.

Bethel Toby