Critical Rivers-Bayelsa link-road to be ready this year – NDDC
… but official decries funding constraints
A critical road linking nine communities between Rivers and Bayelsa states would be ready for commuters before end of the year (2017). The road runs between Otuasega in Ogbia Local Council Area of Bayelsa State through Obedum and Emelego in Abua-Odual Council of Rivers State. It is a zone for plantain, banana, cassava, snails, etc.
The nine communities are said to be heavily involved in farming and need the critical road to access urban markets in the two states. For now, it was gathered, travellers would need to get to the city and access the East-West Road before getting to the other part of that section. Now, the road is to be completed soon.
The new executive director of projects of the reconstituted Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Adjogbe, disclosed the news.
Adjogbe observed that the regional road was very important because it would help the people of the area to evacuate their agricultural produce to the cities for sale. He said residents of the nine communities along the route were predominantly farmers who were daily confronted with the challenges of conveying their farm produce to urban areas.
The NDDC assured that the 23.5-kilometre road and bridges linking the two sister states would definitely be completed this year. He gave the assurance when he led a team of directors and engineers to inspect the regional road spanning nine agricultural-rich communities as part of the Commission’s drive to complete all on-going projects in the Niger Delta.
He underlined the economic benefits of the road to the region and reaffirmed the commitment of the NDDC management led by the managing director, Nsima Ekere, to complete all ongoing projects in the Niger Delta in the shortest possible time.
The engineer explained that inadequate funding was a major challenge slowing down work on the road, noting: “Funding has been a drawback but we are determined to find ways of addressing the challenge. We will find funds to complete the road so that we can get the full value of the regional project.
“I am not happy that the road is taking longer than anticipated to complete. I can’t say that I am satisfied with the status of the road at this point. I will be satisfied only when the project is completed and handed over to the benefitting communities.”
He urged the community leaders in the area to support and cooperate with the contractor to ensure that there were no hindrances to meeting NDDC’s target to complete the project before the end of the year. He added: “The contractor will be appropriately funded to ensure that the target of delivering the project this year was realised.”
The Community Liaison Officer for the project, Sotonye Ezekiel, thanked the NDDC for making it possible for the people in several communities in both Rivers and Bayelsa states to drive to their villages. “Before now, coming to our community was a Herculean task because the road was virtually impassable until the NDDC intervened,” he said.