S'South monarchs condemn poor execution of East-West road

TRADITIONAL rulers from 180 kingdoms in the South-South zone have decried the slow pace of work on the East-West Road six years after the Federal Government began work on it.They said the poor execution of the project had been greeted by a series of demonstrations by aggrieved youth groups to draw government's attention to the neglect of the road.The monarchs, who met with the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, asked him to convene an enlarged stakeholders' meeting of traditional rulers, legislators and other interest groups on issues affecting the region.In his response, Orubebe said the road would be completed in December 2014. He blamed the non-completion of the road on inadequate funding. The highway forms the pivot of the ministry's mandate of infrastructure provision for the region.The road, which construction started in 2006, was inherited from the Federal Ministry of Works when the Niger Delta Ministry was created in 2009.Since then, people of the oil-rich region have been looking forward to the completion of the highway, which is expected to open up the area economically.Orubebe had said the project would be completed in December 2012 but in late 2011, he announced December 2013 as the new date for its completion.At the Ministerial Platform last month, the minister maintained that the December 2013 deadline was still realistic.But at the meeting with the monarchs, Orubebe shifted the completion date to December 2014. And as in previous cases, he cited poor funding for the action.In a statement issued in Abuja at the weekend, the ministry said the project had reached 50 per cent completion from its 10 per cent level in 2009.Orubebe said the shift in the date of completion of the road and other projects being handled by the ministry was due to inadequate funding.The minister told the monarchs that the flagship of infrastructural projects of his ministry was the dualisation of the East-West Road.The statement was signed by the Deputy Director Press, Fidelis Osammor.
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