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Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has pledged the readiness of his government to partner with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to facilitate easy flow of petroleum products from Abia State to other parts of South eastern region of the country.
The governor made this known during a stakeholders’ meeting held between the state government and top management team of the NNPC. The governor identified three key areas which will help mitigate pipeline vandalisation in the state.
According to him, there was the need to cooperate with management of the NNPC in these key areas to ensure lasting peace that will in turn guarantee free flow of petroleum products within the region.
The key areas the governor mentioned included the need to provide logistics around moving petroleum products into the depot at Osisioma and further conveying them to various parts of the Southeast. The governor said with adequate logistics available, the difficulty encountered during movement of products into the depot and conveying them to other parts of the Southeast and even the nation would be addressed.
While identifying the Osisioma Road as a key enabler to guarantee free flow of petroleum products, the Governor said his administration has done some interventions in the road leading to the depot.The State Chief Executive restated his government’s commitment to fixing the road completely.
“We are rebuilding the Osisioma Road using rigid pavement technology. This very road is key to our people.
“We had noticed that the road to that depot, which is a federal road, was bad and we intervened by hiring Willangy Construction Company to reconstruct it using the rigid pavement technology for the first 3km leading to the depot in order to ensure smooth transportation of products by articulated trucks. We also tried to do a drainage to take away storm water from it but the federal government then awarded same road for twice the amount of money we awarded it to another contractor and we’ve been going back and forth to Abuja to resolve the issue even to the point of asking them to allow us do even if just the first 3km with rigid pavement. I am hopeful that very soon we will resolve the issue as I am not asking for refunds but rather asking them to allow us repair that road for the benefit of our people and for the protection of the strategic national infrastructure. I am hopeful we will resume work on that road very soon”, he said.
