Minister, NDDC, Others to Meet over Failing Portions of East-West Road

By Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
 

Worried by the deplorable state of the 15-kilometre Eleme–Onne Port Junction section of the East-West Road, the Minister of Niger Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani 

is billed to convene a tripartite meeting for a quick remedial measure.

The tripartite meeting is between the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) Nigeria Limited. 

Usani, who appealed to the management of RCC for a quick intervention to fix the bad parts of the road, said the call was necessitated by the reports he was getting on the deplorable condition of the road, adding that the intervention was to cushion the suffering of road users.

“I was in Rivers State last week and the people were anxious about the condition of the road.  The Managing Director of NDDC has promised a quick intervention on the said road,”  the minister said.

A statement issued by the Director (Press), Mr. Marshal Gundu stated that the minister also stated that he was working in collaboration with the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma to ensure more budgetary allocation for the East-West Road project.

Usani stated this at a meeting with the Managing Director RCC), Mr. Moussa Nakhla in Abuja. 

Usani sought to know what RCC would be able to do as a matter of urgency on the failed portion of the road, noting  that that section of the East-West road had been receiving public outcry for some time now. 

Nakhla expressed the willingness of his company to start work on that part of the road if it was captured in the 2017 Budget of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

He said it was a waste of time and money to do a temporary work on a road that will spoil in no distant time. 

Nakhla called for more budgetary allocation from the federal government and prompt releases of funds to aid the completion of the East -West Road which commenced since the inception of the ministry in 1999.