Eket community rejects diversion of East-West road

The Eket community in Akwa Ibom State,hosting the Eket axis of the East-West road, has rejected the proposal to divert the road from the area.The community, under the auspices of Eket Community Stakeholders, in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eket, said that the idea of a diversion was unacceptable.The statement was signed by Obong Assam Usoro, Chairman, Eket Community Stakeholders and Chief Ekpu Johnson, National President of Eket Peoples' Union.The community contended that the proposed diversion would further delay the delivery of the road when other communities along the East-West road were already enjoying the road.``We wish to erase the erroneous impression created in some quarters, that we are the ones delaying the project.``It was clearly established that inadequate funding of Eket section and non-payment of compensation and bureaucracy were responsible for the slow pace of work,'' the statement said.It said that a purported acceptance of the diversion of the road at a meeting convened by the state government was misleading and did not reflect the views canvassed by the community's representatives at the meeting.``We are surprised that the position of the Paramount Ruler of Eket, Obong Nathaniel Odunenyie, who said that the road should continue in its original plan, while the Niger Delta Ministry should be allowed to construct a bypass as an additional project, was misrepresented.``It is equally misleading to inform the public that Eket communities accepted and endorsed the diversion without addressing the concerns of property owners affected by the road project, whose compensation has been delayed for over five years''.The statement maintained that the diversion was a cost saving measure by the construction company in spite of the upward review of the contract sum on two occasions.
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