The erection of artificial shrines and unapproved buildings along the Calabar –Itu–Ikot Ekepene highway in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States constitutes an obstacle to the dualisation of the expressway.
The dualisation, our findings revealed, was undertaken by the present government. The road, which was constructed in the 70’s during the era of oil boom by the General Yakubu Gowon regime, had since become a death trap.
The Federal Government had awarded the road contract in 2018 to a firm, Julius Berger, for the complete reconstruction and dualisation of the entire span of over 50 kilometres stretch of the road.
However, rather than appreciate this move by the government, villagers living along the stretch of the road have devised a plan of getting money from the government by erecting emergency structures close to the road.
When our correspondent visited the road during the week, many villagers were seen building houses, erecting shrines and sinking boreholes by the side of the road which has already been surveyed with structures captured for demolition.
For instance, the villagers along Okurikang, Ikot Okon Akiba, Kparam, Akai Effiwat, Itu Bridge head and Itu junction and other villages in Akwa Ibom State have erected shrines and unapproved structures.
Some of the villagers, in an interview, admitted that they are rushing to build houses and shrines close to the road knowing that contract has been awarded for the construction.
One of them in the village of Kparam, who gave his name as Ekpo Ekpo, said, “We are not aware of any road construction project. We are building on our land and nobody has told us not to build close to the road”.
An elderly man on clutches in the same village, who refused to give his name, was seen supervising the building of his house. He explained that his other structure is a thatch house which could collapse at any moment. He stated that this was the reason he has engaged someone to build another one for him beside the road.
Another young man, Elvis Samuel in Ikot Okon Akiba village, openly admitted that he is building his house close to the road so that he could get paid by the contractor when it is demolished in the course of the construction work.
“We have been living here for many years and have been suffering the effect of the bad state of this road and now that government has decided to work on it, we should also be given some compensation for keeping the road alive by filling the bad spots with stones and sand for vehicles to pass,” he said.
Reacting, the village head of Okurikang, Chief Inyang Inyang said he was unaware of any rush to construct houses close to the road, adding that if there is anything of such, “those doing the work should be the ones to complain not those just passing by”.
At the Federal Ministry of Works, Calabar Office, the Federal Controller of Works, Engineer Bassey Nsentip said such “deceptive development” is not encouraged by the ministry.