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From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Stanley Lebechi Mbam, an engineer, is Commissioner for Works in Ebonyi State. He played a prominent role in the development of infrastructure in the state by the immediate past administration of Chief David Umahi, especially roads. He spoke on the road projects of the present administration, demolition of buildings and payment of compensation at the Vanco area for the flyover project; and rural roads among others.
Excerpts:
The government has run for over a year and half, what has your ministry done?
I want to appreciate the opportunity given to me by His Excellency our governor to serve in his administration. In my ministry, in accordance with the People’s Charter of Needs manifesto of the governor in line 17 and 19 where infrastructure is captured, my ministry has been posed with so much responsibility in terms of infrastructural development which we have done a lot within one year and seven months. So far, so good and we have been able to rehabilitate some of our internal roads. We have moved ahead to expand our rural roads and we have expanded our capital city through construction of some roads including the Mile 50 New Layout and we have completed about 4km roads there. We have also constructed the road that leads to the water scheme, the facility that distributes water to the capital which has been in dilapidation for several years. That road is about 3km. We have also constructed the one that links Ishielu water scheme. We have also constructed the Agbaja-Ndiebor road, and Ebia Unuphu road which is 11.5km. We have constructed Ogbaga/Nwofe road which is about 24km. In Ezillo, we are constructing about 31km road there which is going on smoothly. We are also constructing road in Okposi, Uburu, Edda. In Okposi, we are constructing a road that links Enugu which is over 12km. There is another one from there to Ugwulangwu which is about 7km. We are also doing Oriuzor/Onueke road which is about 13km and work is going on there. We have completed first phase of Obvudechi road, we are constructing Oferekpe/Iziogo road. We have other jobs that are springing up day by day and as I speak to you, we have flagged off construction of 23km Umuogudu Oshia/NIGERCEM road. All the communities in Ebonyi State are receiving 2km road intervention. At Vanco Junction, we have a twin flyover and tunnel and work is going on progressively there now. We believe that with the mindset of our dear governor, we are moving to the second phase of urban renewal programme of this administration as we just entered 2025 to upgrade our urban city. If it didn’t start this January, it will start on second week of February. So far, so good, these are our achievements.
You talked about Vanco Junction where a lot of demolition was done, has compensation been paid to those whose property were destroyed?
Yes, that has been done, government has paid compensation and the people affected have received their compensation. They have done documentation and they have received compensation. Nobody is complaining.
What is the level of work so far on the 2km road per community in the state?
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The roads are being handled by contractors and it was not proposed under my ministry, it was proposed under the ministry of infrastructure but these are what we are doing as government of Ebonyi State. Within the first quarter of this year, the job will be completed based on the project agreement.
What about the flyover, other signature projects and 20km urban roads?
That 20km is going to go far and we are not going to stop there; in our first quarter, we did about 15km and now we are doing 20km. We are going to pay attention to some of the places that are very bad: Afikpo street, Udensi road, Convent areas, Ugwuachara road and so many other places in the capital city. They will all receive attention in the second phase. We are using both cement and asphalt in constructing the road. We intend to asphalt most of our urban areas. We left our rural roads on concrete pavement because of heavy trucks that ply them. We will continue to maintain all these structures because they are not there forever. Some of them are designed for a period of time, like the one the former administration did. I believe that by 2026, we will commence more rehabilitation by asphalting them so that we can give them more strength and more lasting duration.
What has it been facing construction site every minute?
It has not been easy but the Lord has given us the strength because based on my experience, it is not my first experience. I have worked as a site engineer. I worked as an appointee of the government in the last administration as Special Assistant to the governor on projects. So, I am not new to the construction activities and the challenges that come with them. But you know this is a new world, a world that new things, new technology, new learning comes out. So, we find it very difficult to focus but we will always have a way of facing our challenges and having solutions to it. So, so far, so good. It has not been easy but we will not rest until we get it right.
To what extent has the People’s Charter of Needs programme of Governor Francis Nwifuru impacted on the people?
It has impacted on the people massively. Let me mention the Ezillo issue. There was a crisis that led to the killing of many people there, people’s houses were also destroyed. As I speak to you, 140 housing units have been built by the governor for those displaced in the crisis. Not only this, the governor has approved construction of 4,000 housing units for civil servants in the state. The governor is also empowering people of the state in line with the People’s Charter of Needs manifesto of his administration. Youths are being trained and empowered by the governor on various skills. We have done the first phase, by this January, the second phase will commence.
