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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A group under the auspices of Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to fix the deplorable Eleme East-West road in South South Rivers State.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja after submitting a letter to demand urgent attention to the road at the Ministry, leader of the group, Dr. Fabeke Douglas, lamented that it was the second letter submitted to the Ministry detailing the Minister on the deplorable condition of the road which has killed many Nigerians plying the road.
He expressed disappointment that nothing has been done on the road after the first letter, a neglect which has necessitated issuing a second letter to the ministry calling on it to act or face total shutdown of the road through a massive protest.
“We have given the ministry 14 days ultimatum to fix the Eleme East-West road or we will shut it down through a protest”, Fabeke, who is also contesting for Senate under the Labour Party, to represent Rivers South East at the National Assembly said.
According to him; “the deplorable condition of the Eleme East-West road has been a major concern for the residents of the area and commuters. Everyday, we experience cases of accidents leading to the loss of innocent lives and properties worth millions of Naira.
“The road has become a death trap for commuters as travellers are scared while using the road alongside heavy duty trucks that are passing from companies.
“The sections of the road measuring 15 kilometers from trailer park to Eleme junction with a connecting bridge is one of the busiest segment of the highway, resulting in the consistent haulage of goods from the Onne seaport, the Port Harcourt Refinery, the Indorama Petrochemical, the Oil and Gas free trade zone among others.
“The road is connecting eight Local Government Areas such as Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme, Andoni, Opobe/Nkoro, Okrika and Oyigbo Local Government Areas as well as Akwa Ibom and Cross River States to Port Harcourt.”
“The road also serves over 200 Multinational companies such as the Indorama Petrochemical and Fertilizer Company, Intels Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria Port Authority, Port Harcourt Refinery, and many others.
“The Nigerian government has promised several times to fix the road but the people are yet to see any sign of construction work, this is very sad and unfortunate considering the billions of Naira the government generates from the companies using the road,” he said.
In July last year, the Ogoni people blocked the road for seven days, calling on the Nigerian government to immediately reconstruct the road.
In reaction, the Nigerian government said it released N2.5 billion to construct the road, but the community insisted that nothing was done on the road.
Fabeke continued: “We call on the Nigerian Government to immediately within the next seven days begin the reconstruction of the road and remodeling the existing Aleto bridge which is near collapsing.
“Failure to do so, the Ogoni people will mobilise again and shut down all forms of transportation and economic activities on the road,” he said.
