By Gabriel Atumeyi
365Daily – The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has appealed to protesting Niger Delta youths to end their occupation of the Eleme section of East-West Road in protest of its deplorable state.
He assured them that the Federal Government is taking adequate steps to address the deplorable state of the Eleme-Onne Section soon.
Akpabio also affirmed the completion of the project by 2022.
Hundreds of youths from various communities in Eleme, Rivers States, shut down the Eleme section of the East-West Road, since Monday, blocking the Akpajo and Refinery junction axis of the road which leads to the Port Harcourt refinery, the Indorama, the free trade zone and the Onne seaport.
Speaking at a meeting with the Ogoni Ethnic Nationality Stakeholders recently, the Minister appealed for peace and calm by the youths in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Babayo Ardo, informed that with the review of the initial contract scope of work and contract unit rates imperative, specific measures for addressing the contingent site conditions militating against the progress of work were taken.
He said the Federal Government, through the Ministry, has been monitoring the progress of work on the upgrading of 15km Port Harcourt to Onne Port Junction Section lllA of the ongoing East-West Road Dualisation project contract.
According to the Minister, the initial contracts for dualisation of the 338km road linking Warri to Oron through Kaima, Ahoada, Port Harcourt, Ogoni and Eket Townships (Sections 1-1V) was initially awarded in four sections to four different contractors in 2006.
“lt is well known that Section 1 (Warri – Kaima covering km. 0+000-Km.15+000 was not part of the contract initially awarded in 2006 because it was in good condition having been dualized earlier”
“over time, the Port Harcourt – Onne junction portion had progressively deteriorated as a result of heavy axle loading, flooding and is no longer serviceable for the current traffic volumes.
“Therefore, the Ministry had to award the Contract for additional works to Messrs RCC Nigeria Limited to upgrade the Port Harcourt Onne Port Junction”.
He added that due to poor annual budgetary provisions, the contract for upgrading of Section IIIA awarded in 2014 could not commence until the Ministry paid the contractors the full mobilization Advance in 2020 and that the condition of the road deteriorated during the period of delay which has led to serious encroachment on the right-of-way initially delineated for the road.
He further stated that the Ministry has proposed an extra-budgetary intervention for inclusion of the East-West Road Sections I-IV in the 2021 SUKUK Issuance Programme of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Debt Management Office, which is part of the efforts made by the Ministry to access adequate funding for the completion of the East-West road project.
“It is in pursuance of this objective that the Ministry stepped down 345 projects and committed N10 billion in the current 2022 budget While Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) made provision of 10 billion in the 2020 annual budget and another N25 billion in 2021 budget to impact positively on the rate of progress of work on the East-West road,” he stressed.
The Minister therefore urged the Ogoni Youths, relevant stakeholders and Niger Deltans “to exercise patience as it is committed to bringing succour to the people of the region.”