Member of the Governing Board of North East Development Commission (NEDC), Rep Sam Onuigbo, has described as erroneous and mischievous the claim by a senior lawyer, Monday Ubani, SAN, that the Umuahia-Ikwuano-Ikot Ekpene federal highway had been abandoned.
Ubani, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), in Abia, had on April 7, 2025, petitioned President Bola Tinubu, complaining that the Trunk A linking the state and Akwa Ibom and other South-South states has been rendered impassable following the abandonment of construction works on the road.
While addressing journalists in Abuja, Thursday, Onuigbo, who represented Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South federal constituency in the 8th and 9th National Assembly, accused the legal practitioner of trying to downplay the efforts of the Federal Government to lift critical infrastructure in Southeast.
He disclosed that earlier this year, precisely on February 3, the Federal Executive Council presided over by the President approved an augmentation of N14.37billion to ensure that the construction continues without delays.
“Consequently, the suggestion of abandonment and total neglect by Ubani, barely two months after the approval by FEC is a blatant falsehood that conveniently omitted the substantial progress achieved on this project, despite logistic and environmental challenges inherent in executive such massive projects.
“I, wish to state that contrary to Ubani’s false claims that the project has been abandoned, the reality on the ground is that construction work is in progress. From June 2023, shortly after President Tinubu’s administration took off, 8.42 kilometers of the terribly-failed sections of the road have been completed, and 4.47 kilometers of concrete works cum drains have been achieved.
“In the first quarter of 2025, 880 metres of asphalt binder course, 3.22 kilometres of wearing course and 1.53 kilometres of concrete drains have been completed. And so, to describe this vital arterial road as a death trap and enarly impassable is not just an exaggeration, but also a calculated distortion designed to provoke undue alarm rather than foster constructive dialogue,” he said.
Onuigbo, who is also chairman of Security, Special Interventions and Climate Change committee on the NEDC board, recalled how on October 1, 2021, the same petitioner wrote a letter to the then President Muhammadu Buhari alleging that the Umuahia-Ikwuano-Ikot Ekpene road had been abandoned.
He disclosed that even though that allegation was found to be false, on June 1, 2023, Ubani also orchestrated some allegations against the then Works Minister, Babatunde Fashola, stressing that “a review of the claims by Ubani showed they were all tissues of falsehood.
Onuigbo declared: “Unsuspecting public may wonder about Ubani’s fixation with the Umuahia-Ikwuano-Ito Ekpene road project. The truth is that the project offers him a ready ground to play in the gallery.
“At any event I understand and sympathise with him for the dilemma of being a Labour Party chieftain Ikwuano, serving as an appointee of Abia State Government and at the same time also a senior Special Adviser to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
“Instead of resorting to blackmail, Ubani should remember that as a lawyer, facts and truth should guide his public communication. I beggars belief that such a senior lawyer could draw stipends from APC government and make bold efforts to de-market the party at home to score cheap political points.”
The former federal lawmaker noted that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to delivering equitable progress, maintaining that the Umuahia-Ikwuano-Ikot Ekpene road is not an exception.
“We urge well-meaning stakeholders to disregard the false narratives of those who want to make the Tinubu administration look bad. The road project is progressing and no amount of ill-intentioned rhetoric will derail its fruition. An accurate progress report could be obtained from the Federal Ministry of Works.
“To Mr. President, we trust Your excelency’s discernment in recognizing the petition from Ubani as an exercise in sensationalism rather than public interest communication. The adminsitration’s record speaks for itself and no amount of misinformation can eclipse the tangible strides made daily on this all-important project,” Onuigbo stated.
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