The Nigerian Senate says it is seriously disturbed by the deplorable state of the strategic East West road that cuts across states of the Niger Delta region, which accounts for about eighty per cent of the country’s resources.
Speaking when he and other Senators paid Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State a visit, chairman of the Senate Adhoc Committee on East-West road and Eleme-Ogoni corridor Abdul Ningi while lamenting the neglect the Niger Delta region has suffered in terms of infrastructural development in the last three decades or so, says owing to its importance, the East-West road should have been a legacy project for previous administrations.
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Members of the Nigerian Senate Adhoc Committee on the strategic East-West road are in Rivers State
They are on a mission to inspect the entire length of the road which cuts across states in the Niger Delta region with a view to finding a lasting solution to what has become a serious concern for the people of the region and the nation’s economy.
The visit sees members of the committee led by Senator Abdul Ningi, inspecting a section of the road stretching from Akpajo junction to Eleme and down to the Ogoni end of the road
The road, which also leads to the oil and gas free zones, housing two refineries, the Onne deep-sea port and a host of other petrochemical industries is in a deplorable condition
It’s been a nightmare for commuters who often get stuck in gridlocks, lasting several hours
Having seen the state of the East-West road, the Senate says the next stage is to convene a public hearing
Governor Sim Fubara says he hopes the 10th National Assembly will not disappoint the people of the Niger Delta region.
He adds that the Nigerian economy will be better for it if the East-West road is in a good state
And just like Governor Sim Fubara, expectations of the long-suffering people of the Niger Delta are also high
They say that fixing the East-West road for a region that contributes about 80% of the nation’s wealth cannot be too much to ask for
Editor Paul Akhagbemhe
