NUPENG Decries Deplorable State Of East-West Road

The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has expressed concern over the deplorable state of the East-West Road, and called on the Federal Government to immediately fix the road to alleviate the plight of its teeming users.
The Chairman of the Port Harcourt Zone of NUPENG, Comrade Mina Samuel, who raised the concern in Port Harcourt, at the weekend, said the poor state of the road has affected the smooth operation of NUPENG members who now find it extremely difficult to ply the route.
He said the damaged portions of the road have made NUPENG members prone to accidents and other hazards because of the difficulties of conveying heavy trucks with products.
According to him, “The poor state of the East-West Road has become worrisome to our members and other road users.
“It’s regrettable that the road, which is a major route to the economic hub of the nation, is abandoned. It’s a pathetic situation to see stranded commuters in heavy traffic on the road on a daily basis. I want to use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to urgently fix the road and save the lives of its users”, Samuel noted.
The NUPENG chairman said the fixing of the road would not only avert accidents but save man-hours and generate more revenue for the government.
Some tanker drivers, who spoke with The Tide during a tour Port Harcourt section of the road, said the damaged spots and deep craters created, particularly within the Nkpolu-Rumuigbo, Rumuodara, Rumuokurusi and Akpajo/Refinery axis, have caused severe obstructions while conveying product-laden trucks.
“We face serious challenges everyday to drive through the road, sometimes our trucks fall along the way, and this is very risky because of possible explosion. We want the government to repair the road to save motorists and commuters from the challenges they face every day. A journey of just 40 minutes now takes two to three hours, the suffering is too much,” one of the tanker drivers lamented.
A commercial motorist, Fabian Eze, who spoke with The Tide, also lamented the poor state of the road.
Eze, who plies Port Harcourt-Bori route said, “Drivers are taking big risk everyday to drive through this road. Because of the bad road, we can’t meet up our business; we waste many hours on traffic and spend a lot of money to repair our vehicles because of damages from the bad road. We want the government to repair the road to help us.”
When The Tide visited the road, long queues of travellers were spotted trekking long distances, especially within the Nkpolu-Rumuigbo and Akpajo/Refinery sections of the road to avert the heavy traffic.
It would be recalled that members of the National Assembly from Rivers State led by the senator representing Rivets South-East Senatorial District, Barinaadaa Mpigi, recently, staged a protest over the deplorable state of the Aleto Bridge, which is at an imminent state of collapse.
They were joined in the protest by some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from Eleme, Tai, Gokana, Khana, Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni and Oyigbo local government areas of the state constituency.
The lawmakers had alerted that urgent steps be taken by the Federal Government to fix the bridge to avert the danger it poses to road users.