From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Former agitators in the Niger Delta region are planning a massive protest against the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, for allegedly abandoning the East-West Road project.
One of the leaders, Osaanya Osaanya, said in a statement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, that all was set to storm the road for what he described as the ‘mother of all protest.’
He said hundreds of youths had agreed to partake in the protest, which he said would last for days to call the Federal Government’s attention to the urgent need to fix the road.
He described the road as a death trap, saying commuters and drivers spend days at a particular deplorable section before getting to their destinations.
Osaanya said trucks and other vehicles were trapped on the road between Bayelsa and Rivers states, and wondered why Umahi would maintain deaf ears despite the outcries of the people.
“The problem we are facing on the East-West Road is caused by Dave Umahi, Minister of Works. How on earth will he carve out the most disturbing spot that needs more urgent attention to a sub-standard contractor. Or is the minister intentionally punishing the people of the Niger Delta? We will bring the protest to the doorstep of the minister and the president, so that President Bola Tinubu will know what we are going through.”
Osaanya called on all relevant groups and leaders of the Niger Delta, such as the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the Movement for the Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality (MOSIEN), the Ijaw Elders Forum, former president, Goodluck Jonathan and others to join the protest.
He also urged Edwin Clark, Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, who he said had started the protest as well as former governor, Seriake Dickson and Rivers State Governor, Siminialayi Fubara, to identify with the protest.
“We can’t continue to live like this as a people. This is the major road connecting all of us in the Niger Delta, where bulk of the resources used in constructing mega roads in other parts of the country come from.
“Why should we always be on our knees to go for what we rightly deserve? This coming protest is another sad reminder of how we have been marginalised and neglected as a people,” he said.