SENATE COMMITTEE ABSOLVE FG ON UNFINISHED EAST – WEST ROAD

The Senate Committee on Niger Delta has declared that the Federal Government was not to be blamed for the hitherto uncompleted East-West Road project in the Niger Delta Region, saying that government has been honest in trying to help the people of Niger Delta.

Speaking earlier in the week during an oversight visit to Sections 1-3 of the East-West  by members of the Committee,  the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Senator Peter Onyeluka Nwaobochi said against the general belief that the Federal Government from the regimes of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari; do not have the interest of the people of Niger Delta region at heart as far as the East-West Road is concerned, a lot of financial commitment had been made on the Project. He noted that even in the 2018 Budget submitted by the President, there was provision for the East-West road.

“The impression everywhere is that the government does not care about the East-West road and nobody wants to do anything about it, but our inspection in this oversight had revealed so much to us that the problem is not the government, it is the people who are not honest, who do not even have the interest of the government at heart, we are not very happy about it.” He added.

“Nobody is querying the budgetary provision, it is the cost of the job. What we are saying is that even if you are paid, be good enough to do the job.” The Senator reiterated.

On the Kilometre 0-15 of Section 3 of the road from Onne to Eleme Junction in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Capital, the Senator said the Committee wanted to know the real owner of the project, as he said that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) told them that they constructed that portion of the road and that the  Committee also heard it on good information that the Rivers State Government spent money on the same road, where the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs had claimed to have spent billions of Naira.

A mild controversy ensued between the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs’ Contractor and that of NDDC over ownership of that portion of the road.

It would be recalled that in 2017, there was an accord among the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, NDDC and the Rivers State government to carry out an emergency repair on the 0-15 Kilometre portion of Section 3 due to its devastating state then.

The Committee Chairman revealed that given the unimpressive work observed on the different sections of the road, especially that of Section 2, where it was said that payment of over 70 per cent had been made. “You will agree with me that they have not done up to 40 per cent of that job.”

The Committee directed that further payments on the entire project be suspended until a public hearing is carried out.

“We are going to do a public hearing, we will invite the people of the Niger Delta, all the stakeholders, the Rivers State Government, NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the contractors involved, to brief us, so that Nigerians can see what is happening on the East-West road.

In his remarks after the oversight visit, the Honourable Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Prof. Claudius Omoleye Daramola who said he was not impressed by what he saw on ground, revealed that it was imperative that all the parties involved looked in to the way forward toward ensuring that the project was delivered to the people in no distant time.