New Flyover Projects: Mgbuoba Location Residents Seek Alternatives Routes

Residents and businesses at Location, Mgbuoba in Port Harcourt, have sought for alternative routes and compensation to cushion the effects of the ongoing construction of the 12th flyover at Ada-George Road in Port Harcourt.
Baring their views in an interview with The Tide Metro on how they feel about this development, many of them stressed the need for alternative routes to help them access their houses.
In the view of Mr Michael Ekene, the project has caused more traffic than usual, as the road is a major road where lots of people use daily, now with this, everyone is accustomed to using an extremely narrow road, that is not even tarred. There is very little solution to this problem, all I would say is the government should work on the only available road, it makes things easier and faster.
For Mr. Excellence Paul, the traffic is my only problem at this point, and maybe the government should direct some police men to regulate the moving of cars around that area, it will help in making the traffic move faster, and make things more orderly for us all. At the end of the day, people will always drive anyhow if they don’t see or find a respectable body, to coordinate movement.
According to Mrs. Destiny Ibekwe, “I cannot imagine the problem that will come with this development but by the time school resumes, it is going to be a major burden for me, taking my children to school and picking them from school will take a longer period of time than normal.
On her part, Mrs. Rose Ukem suggested the need for an outlet, so that cars going back to Ada-George can use and people going to NTA or Choba have another outlet to reduce the congestion on the road. “Farm Road Close should be made smoother for us all since it’s the only available road so as to prevent the road from spoiling, and movement will be made faster for everyone”.
Mr Faithful Anosike urged that work at Pepperoni Junction by Iwofe should be fastened up. “I urge the contractor to ensure that work is done as fast as possible to reduce the congestion on the road. I can see that they are almost done with it and we thank God for that, but the remaining little work that is left should be completed fast. Thank God, it’s not raining anymore, because I know the rain could be a problem.”
Mr. Daniel Orji urged the authorities to cushion the loss incurred by property owners, “ I know that very few people have been compensated so far, the money given to them should equate to the value of their properties.”
According to Mr. Stanley John, his friend who owns a very big shop at location area was asked to vacate the shop because of this project and he has lost millions of Naira. “I know how much he makes every day and he hasn’t even been compensated because they are compensating property owners first. The government hasn’t made any alternative areas for them to move their business, and this is where he gets money to take care of his family. I urge the government to consider this and do something about it”.
Mrs Jane Douglas, who do goods delivery business said the demolition will definitely affect her since customers and clients will move elsewhere.
“I had plans of using the money she got from compensation to open another shop at another lucrative area, but since nothing has come in. I am forced to move around and it takes a lot of money, half of my money now goes to transport, I expect the government to pay as they have promised so I can settle down at a different location”, she said.

By: Oreoluwa Adigun