East-West Road: Motorists Flay FG For Slow Work Pace

The Ahoada-Mbiama axis of the East-West Road has now become a nightmare to road users following the collapse of that section of the ever-busy road that connects all the states of South-South geo-political zone with the western and northern parts of the country.
The Tide learnt that motorists now spend four to six hours on that part of the road, the worst day being Tuesdays, when  the weekly market day of Mbiama community takes place.
Consequently, commuters who trek several metres and those sweating furiously inside their vehicles have continued to criticise the Federal Government, particularly the Ministry of Niger Delta and SETRACO, the construction firm handling the road, on daily basis for delaying their journey and occasioned by the non-completion of the project which has now lasted about eight years.
Many road users believe that SETRACO has no capacity to handle the road, with its difficult terrain and swampy nature from Ahoada in Rivers State and to Warri in Delta State.
The road has many rivers such as Orashi, Forcados, Nun, Niger and their tributaries.
A motorist, Johnson Alabi blamed the Federal Government for the delay, saying that the job could have been split among many competent construction companies with more sophisticated equipment.
Opara Obed, an indigene of Eluma community, said it would be an albatross for Jonathan’s bid for 2015, if the road was not completed, saying, the people of Niger Delta would not accept any excuse for not completing the project.
An official of SETRACO, when approached for comment, said “you can see the works we are doing. We are trying to fix the bad spots on the old lane even though that is not part of our contract agreement.”
“I am not the person who is supposed to talk to you, but why can’t you praise us for trying to maintain the old lane. We are not the cause for the slow traffic flow, the impatient drivers should be blamed”, the SETRACO man who refused to give his name, said.
However, like every situation, hawkers are making brisk business on the road, and would want the long queue to continue.
Items such as satchel water, roasted snails, bottled water, minerals, banana, and fruits, among others are now freely sold on the road, with most hawkers making huge profit from their sales.
A hawker, Blessing Okeke, said she used to make between N3,000 to N4,000 a day, but now he could smile home with up N10,000.
Asked if she doesn’t suffer any sickness as a result of the difficult marshy road; she simply laughed, saying “if I stay at home, you go give me money”.