By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo
More than 12 years after construction work commenced, the Nsit Atai/Okopedi/Uya Aro road dualization project, concieved to link the state to the five Local Councils of Oro nation is yet to be completed with little or no hope in sight.
The road project was initiated after the closure of the Uyo-Oron federal highway to make way for the construction of the Victor Attah International Airport which ran across the federal highway.
Disturbed by the development, indigenes and visitors using the road have expressed dissatisfaction with government’s handling of the project which remained at less than 10 percent completion after more than a decade.
This is even as the apex Oro ethnic socio cultural organization Oro Union have continued to attribute the non completion of the road to a sustained insensitivity to problems of the people of Oro ethnic nationality by successive administrations in the state.
With kidnappings and robberies taking place on a frequent basis especially along the Nsit Atai Okopedi axis, residents and commuters have continued to ply that road with fear and trepidation amidst constant breakdown of vehicles especially during the rainy season.
Speaking during an interview with journalists in Uyo recently a former commissioner for works Dr Ephraim Inyang-eyen cited lack of funds and political will on the part of the state government to execute the project.
According to Inyang-eyen, “as a former Commissioner who served when we awarded the roads, I am in a better position to explain, in 2017, we actually awarded two road, one is the Airport- Okopedi dualization which tears off at Okopedi. Then there is another one called Okopedi-Uya Aro roundabout which flushed into East-West road.
“Airport-Okopedi was awarded to different a contractor. The Okopedi – Uya was awarded to CCECC and they started the project. When they started the project, they were not mobilized. The went into that project on trust with the government. The entire community did not give us any problem.
“The Okobo people gave us maximum cooperation. The only thing we did for them was to give them two bore holes because their streams were polluted. Compensations were not paid but they allowed us to work on the road project. So, the job that the CCECC did was a good job but they were not funded and only backed out after about nine months when they couldn’t use their funds any longer.
“The then governor had promised to fund the project but did not, may be for the paucity of funds. However I was very happy when I heard a few days ago that the job have been rewarded to the CECC, I jumped for joy, I was excited.
“Primarily, I am making this clarification that CCECC did a good job earlier and I thank Governor Umo Eno for re-awarding the job to them and also Okobo people for their cooperation. If the present government will fund that project, it will be a good project for Akwa Ibom State.
“It is also good to say that the beauty and flow of the project will be better if the Airport-Okopedi road project is executed along with the Okopedi-Uya aro road. The two projects will further open up the state and bring so much relieve to the communities in that axis. Let me also emphasized that throughout my tenure which ended around 2021, there was no time, the Okobo people failed to corporate with us. The CCECC backed out due to paucity of funds.”
When asked why the past administration which executed many road projects failed to prioritize such a major road, he said that,”the government tried to do so but when Covid 19 came, many things actually shut down and many of those things didn’t pick up till about 2022 and it affected a lot of funding.
“In 2020, all efforts in the state was geared towards sustanance and keeping people alive, we diverted money to build Disease Control and isolation centre. It was like six months of that year was total shut down. And again it depends on the priority of the leader.
“A few of those projects were completed due to the priority he set, I wouldn’t know what happened after I left from 2021. I am only happy that the governor has rewarded to the CECC who started the project initially with their own funds.”
“They embarked on that project without mobilization because they were part of other projects in the state. Particularly the Etinan Eket Road, Eket-Ibeno Road, so we persuaded them that government will pay but government didn’t pay”.
He further stated that Okobo communities who were given two boreholes for their streams got no compensation because the government didn’t pay CCECC to make any money available for compensation.
“The work was pushed to the extent you are seeing it because we keep re-assuring them that the government will pay. Not even those whose farmlands and crops were demolished were compensated because the government did not provide any fund.
“The situation on the road wasn’t the fault of the community or the construction company. In my opinion it is paucity of funds or the setting of priorities by the then governor.” He explained.
Efforts to get the reaction of the state works commissioner was unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls or messages sent to him by newsmen.
