East-West Road: N’Delta Ministry Wakes From Slumber

With resumption of more serious work on the controversial East- West Road, especially on the Mbiama/Port Harcourt axis of the road, indications are that the Niger Delta Ministry responsible for the road is now awake from its slumber.

Setraco, the contractor handling the project has moved in more construction equipment apparently as a fall out of the barrage of criticisms that followed the near abandonment of the road by the Godsday Orubebe-led ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

However, with the new trend, it is hoped that due attention would be accorded the project as against the publicly perceived  high politicking on the road by government agencies concerned.

However, inspite of the efforts of the Federal Government to fix the East West Road, road users, especially commercial drivers operating along Rivers and Bayelsa States axis of the road are not impressed.

Godwin Opakirite, a taxi driver operating between Rumuokoro and Choba axis of the road said “ government officials are only playing politics with the road, otherwise for so many years, they have been dilly-dalling with the road, they would have completed it.

Mr Opakirite said, “imagine when the former President Olusegun Obasanjo approved over N200billion contract for the road, he only released about N1.2billion for the contract. This does not show any sign of seriousness otherwise, he would have released, at least 50% of the money.

He reminded the government that the East West Road is strategic to the nation and not just the Niger Delta people, explaining that it provides the link through which the Federal Government transports petroleum products from the oil- rich Niger Delta region to various parts of the nation.

Also speaking, Mr Chide Amaefule, who drives a commercial bus from Port Harcourt to Yenagoa, expressed disappointment that till today, the road remains the  way it was twenty years ago without any convincing effort by the government to fix it in the interest of the nation.

He debunked the statement by Minister of Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe that security situation was responsible for the poor state of the road.

‘It is a shame for the Minister to say that  he does not know that militancy has since become a thing of the past in the Niger Delta.

Accepted that Julius Berger expatriates staff working on the road were abducted many years ago because of the security situation, then, and so what?, he queried.

He stated that militancy had become history in Niger Delta, and wondered why a son of the Niger Delta who luckily is the Minister of the region was still making reference to such situation many years after.

He advised Orubebe to advance more reasons for his shameful failure to use his position and office to the benefit of his people.

One of the students of the University of  Port Harcourt, Herbert Godswin also decried what he described as convenient politicisation of the project.

He said, before people used to say the Northerners were at the helm of affairs in the nation, and so were not interested in the rehabilitation of the road even when the  road was obviously serving the socio-economic interest of the nation.

Today, Goodluck Jonathan is the President and is of Niger Delta extraction. So also is the Minister of Niger Delta, he said, and wondered why they have still not done any convincing job on the road.

Mr Godswin reminded both the President and the Minister that all they were doing would be properly documented by history in future, adding that it would be the worst if they do not fix the road.

Another bus driver, Emmanuel Okai, said, as long as I am concerned, Setraco is only digging out sand for the past three years, and have not shown that they have the capacity to execute the project.

They should stop deceiving us. The other day, the Minister of Niger Delta had the guts to insult Rivers State Governor and said that Port Harcourt under the governor’s administration was abandoned.

He explained that the minister, by that comment, had proved that he did not know Niger Delta well inspite of the fact that he is a son of Niger Delta.

Nobody should even bother to explain to him that the urban  renewal effort of Governor Amaechi has saved  Port Harcourt from going extinct as an urban city.

He advised the minister to find time to go round the region and know the area he was administering and stop exposing his ineptitude.

Chris Oluoh