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| Angry protesting residents at the Atimbo/Akpabuyo federal road on Friday |
Nyok|28 November 2018
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pst Usani Uguru Usani, is under fire for failing to ensure the construction of Atimbo/Akpabuyo Federal Road despite the appropriation of over three hundred million (out of four hundred million naira) Naira NEGROIDHAVEN can report authoritatively.
Nigerians resident in the Atimbo area of both Calabar Municipality and Akpabuyo LGA staged a protest Friday when the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta led by Rt. Hon. Essien Ekpenyong Ayi which superintends over the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and Federal Government Amnesty programme concluded its three days oversight supervision of designated projects in the Niger Delta region.
The youths, elderly ones, others were seen to brandish placards with various inscriptions like —’Usani where is the money appropriated for Atimbo-Ikang Road’, ‘NASS should probe Minister of Niger Delta’, ‘Usani complete the Atimbo-Ikang road’, ‘NASS please save us from uncompleted projects’, ‘Save us from Usani, let him complete our road’, ‘Why are we becoming slaves to Usani with our money from NDDC?’ and the like.
According to the youths in the community the contractors to the project had abandoned the construction for over six months and only arrived at this section of road that Friday by 5AM since they heard that the House Committee where due to arrived the scene of the construction work.
One Austin Okon said ‘this morning they started filling this road because they heard the committee is coming for oversight, they have been given money, for about 6 months now they stopped work here, they have been doing window dressing, as I speak with you, there are portions that are very bad,
‘They came this morning by 5AM, 6AM to come and fill them, we just want to be peace loving, we would have arrested all of them and put them in cell… some of our youths are angry’.
The residents and indigenes drew attention of the committee to the already failed section of the just rehabilitated section of the road that had caved in and the poorly constructed drainage system.
A representative of the ELM Limited explained that the rains frustrated their construction job to which they youths went wild shouting that ‘you are a criminal’, etc.
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| Rt. Hon. Essien Ayi, chairman of House Committee on Niger Delta |
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| Hon Eta Mbora (L) making inquiries from a rep of the Ministry of Niger Delta(in check top) |
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| Rt. Hon. Ayi obviously disappointed at the pace of construction work |
The project which is titled: Construction of Atimbo-Akpabuyo Road Construction in Cross River State (section) according to document sighted by our correspondent is pegged at N400, 000, 000 (four hundred million Naira) in the 2018 Appropriation Law with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as client, Akpaven Integrated Services Nigeria Limited as consultant and ELM Limited as contractor. N335, 000, 000 (three hundred and thirty five million Naira) has been given by the FG for the construction.
The Chairman of the House Committee Rt. Hon. Ayi while expressing his disappointment over the development said that he included that project in the budget because of the suffering of the people. He assured the constituents that he will summon the contractors and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to appear before the committee and ‘if we are not satisfied, we will send them to Public Account and the EFCC’.
BLOGGERTORIAL
The projects reads ‘Construction of Atimbo Akpabuyo Road in Cross River State (section 2), but, what our correspondent saw was a poor rehabilitation work. Where’s the N335 million already received…?
The projects reads ‘Construction of Atimbo Akpabuyo Road in Cross River State (section 2), but, what our correspondent saw was a poor rehabilitation work. Where’s the N335 million already received…?
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is the Blogger-in-Chief, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of NEGROIDHAVEN
Is the Blogger-in-Chief, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of NEGROIDHAVEN
