Members of the National Assembly from Rivers State on Monday took to the streets in protest against the deplorable state of the element
section of the East-West Road.
Led by the Senator representing Rivers South East senatorial
district in the National Assembly, Barinada Mpigi, the members, who carried
placards, marched through some parts of the road before stopping at
Aleto/Akpajo Bridge at Eleme.
Other members of the National Assembly who protested
were member representing Khana/Gokana federal constituency, Rt. Hon. Dumnamene
Dekor; member representing Obio/Akpor federal constituency, Hon. Kingsley
Chinda; member representing
Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro federal constituency, Awaji Inombek Dagomie Abiante; member
representing Port Harcourt federal constituency 2, Hon. Chinyere Igwe; member representing
Okrika Ogu/Bolo federal constituency, Gogo Bright Tamuno, and their counterpart
at the state House of Assembly representing Eleme constituency, Hon. Igwe
Aforji.
They lamented the deplorable state of the ever-busy
Aleto/Akpajo bridge, stating that the bridge has become very dangerous not just
for commuters who on a daily basis ply the road to neighboring Akwa Ibom and
Cross River States, but to oil and gas business operators who equally ply their
trade at the Indorama Eleme Petrochemical Company, Refineries and the seaport
at Onne in Eleme Local Government Area of the state.
Addressing journalists, leader of the protest,
Senator Mpigi, said: “We are here to draw the attention of the federal
government to the deplorable condition of this road (East-West) and the
bridge. You know that almost everything
that Nigeria has is within us here-two refineries, petrochemical industry and
of course, the oil and gas free zone.
“We’ve seen and you have also seen what is
happening here. It shows that we’ve been
abandoned. The people of Rivers State
have been abandoned. This is a federal government road and not a state
government road.
“You see that the bridge is shaky, and there is the
tendency that any moment from now, the people from this area will be cut off
from this country.
“One question we must ask is ‘are we really part of
this country or not? Are we enjoying our
taxpayers’ money or we are not? The
truth is that we have been abandoned and neglected."
He said the lawmakers decided to embark on the
protest to tell Nigerians that "we have been totally cut off from all we
are supposed to gain from this country."
Mpigi noted that “contract for this road had been
awarded to RCC as we are aware. Just to
execute and release the fund meant for this road is the impediment now; it’s
like we have been abandoned. It’s not
about increasing funding or not because there has been an existing budget and
allocation for this road for a long time.
“We want the job to begin immediately. Once that has been done, we as members of the
National Assembly can come back and talk about appropriation because the contract has been awarded and work started, but now there’s a halt.
“The value of the contract to our knowledge was
over N2 billion within the Ogoni-Akwa Ibom axis up to the Eleme Junction, but the
value, for now, is not known.”
In his own address, member representing Obio/Akpor federal
constituency, Hon. Kingsley China, said: "Those of us in the National
Assembly have severally protested against the treatment of our people
particularly concerning this bridge. We
know that this place is the spine of this country. If the country is serious with oil and gas,
then the importance of this bridge cannot be overemphasised.
“All the refineries, petrochemicals company, and
fertilizer company are all here, including Onne Sea Port and Naval Training
School. To access these places, you need
to go through this road.
“But because this is Rivers State, as usual, there is
graveside silence to issues that pertain to us.
That is why, having brought a motion on the floor of the National
Assembly, members have supported that the Executive arm should quickly ensure
that this bridge is taken care of to forestall incidence that might lead to
loss of lives of Nigerians.”
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