Delta lawmaker wants FG, NDDC to reconstruct East-West road

THE lawmaker representing Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Efe Afe Hasan, has called for urgent intervention of the Federal Government and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in reconstructing the East-West road linking all the oil-producing South-South states.

The Federal lawmaker specifically expressed concern over the present deplorable condition of the Warri-Sapele-Benin expressway of the East-West highway which, he said, called for a reconstruction to permanently ease vehicular movements.

Hassan made the submissions at the inauguration of a two-feeder road projects executed by NDDC within Sapele municipality in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State – the Akporjevughe road and Oghene road, each traversing total length of four kilometres and 2.5 kilometres respectively.

While commending NDDC for the projects aimed at de-flooding the affected areas, Hassan noted that about four motions are still pending before the House of Representatives, appealing to the Federal Government and the NDDC to come to the aid of the people plying the routes.

“As Delta, Edo and other adjoining states are oil-producing states we need to move oil particularly when the pipelines are not functioning properly right now with leakages here and there.

“The only alternative is to move the oil by road. And if the roads are not properly maintained, haulage of oil and gas products from Warri or Edo to other parts of the country will increase the cost of movement aside from the risk of accidents, kidnapping, among others.

“I want to use this opportunity again to re-echo our appeal at the House of Representatives that President Muhammadu Buhari should, as a matter of urgency, come to the aid of our people to reconstruct the Warri-Sapele-Benin road and also the Eku-Agbor road.

“These are Federal roads which need to be rehabilitated urgently. If these roads are in good condition all of us would be happy.

“I also appeal to NDDC that urgent palliatives should be carried out to the East-West road that had been cut off by flood. They should fix this failed road urgently,” he pleaded.

Speaking earlier, the NDDC Director, Delta State office, Steve Ogheneare, who represented the acting Managing Director of the Commission, Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, noted that prior to the award of the contract for the construction of the 6.5 kilometres Sapele feeder roads, “the entire communities in the locality were swampy and in unbelievably bad state, prone to perennial flooding and therefore not passable throughout the year.

“With the completion of the projects, the story has changed for the better for residents and commuters as they now ply the roads with ease and take noticeably brief time to get to their destinations. There is indeed considerable savings in time and money as the people ply these roads.”

Responding, the representative of the landlords’ association of Sapele-Okpe host communities, Nathaniel Udonsuk, thanked the management of NDDC for the gesture.

He appealed to the interventionist agency to boost the newly-constructed roads with street lights to checkmate banditry on the corridors, especially at nights.

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