Without Proper Management, It Will Be Wasteful Investing On East-West Road-Akpabio

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, has said that the benefit of the investment on the construction of the East-West road may not translate to lasting returns unless proper management structures are put in place to guarantee that all parties play their roles effectively.

Akpabio in a statement signed by the Director of Press to the Ministry, Patricia Deworitshe, urged all stakeholders to gear up and demonstrate commitment towards the completion of the road, noting that the Federal Government was pushing hard for the completion of the East-West road.

Represented by the Director of Housing and Urban Development, Okereafor Patrick, the Minister said that the sole purpose of the meeting was to enrich and ensure the collective appreciation of the task ahead and to have first hand knowledge of the entire corridor which spans a total length of about 361Km across five States of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.

Akpabio explained that the Road Corridor is presently a dual carriageway with a total of four lanes, adding that at the end of the technical meeting and the tour which will last two days with a wrap-up in Uyo, the attendees will appreciate the essence of the road tour.

“I am certain that we shall all be clear and lucid about the content of our collective task, the challenges and the importance of our commitment to this cause,” he said.

He urged all stakeholders to gear up and demonstrate commitment towards the completion of the road and commended the Delta State Government for assisting in the organization of the meeting.

The Director Urban Development Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Olufemi Oloruntola in his presentation on complementary programmes for East-West Road said the objective is to heighten their resolve for action and lay the foundation for consensus among stakeholders.

According to him “The East West road is a highway that carries heavy traffic which includes volatile and dangerous cargos which had resulted in traffic jams and clogs, damage to road, disruption of economic activities, insecurity, trauma and increased maintenance cost as well as loss of revenue to the Government.”

Speaking further, Oloruntola said that the complementary programmes are proposed to protect the corridor and guarantee its Return on Investment on a long-lasting basis.

“The idea is for the MNDA to take proactive steps early to establish approved access and exit points in conjunction with the relevant state and local authorities, especially the Local Planning Authorities along the corridor. 

“Their respective physical plans will integrate into these points. The essence is to implement mitigation actions to control and manage access and provide for seamless influx and exit of traffic at agreed, designated and approved locations only and thus eliminate corridor clogs.”

 The Deputy Director Urban and Regional Development, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Lanu Olalekan said that road transportation constitutes one of the  major features of the economic development of Nigeria.

He added that the road chosen at the inception of the project were inter-regional from North-South and East-West connecting commodity production centres with Railways Stations and the Ports.