As Obasanjo commissions completed sections of the road
By Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa
Governor Douye Diri has assured the good people of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of full completion of the Yenagoa- Oporoma- Ukubie road to hit the Atlantic in the Central Senatorial District of the state.
Governor Douye Diri gave the assurance while presenting his welcome address at commissioning ceremony of the completed section of the road at Angiama.
The Miracle Governor said he had the privilege of hosting some leaders from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area who told him that the road is as old as 60 years but no action was taken and commended former President Goodluck Jonathan for constructing the bridge to cross the Ekole river noting that the Governor that succeeded Jonathan abandoned the road citing difficult terrain as reason why road cannot be constructed in the area.
He gave credit to former Governor Henry Seriake Dickson for taken the bold initiative to construct the road to Igeibiri when he became governor which he stated is the foundation upon which the Prosperity Administration has built on to achieve the milestone success with the road now at Angiama, a point where those traveling further down Southern Ijaw board boats to get to their towns,emphasizing that it was the need to have a road connecting to their various localities that made the people of Southern Ijaw to vote for their son, David Lyon in the 2019 general election in the state.
Governor Diri placed on record that construction of the Yenagia-Oporoma-Ukubie road was one of his campaign promises to the people of Southern Ijaw who taught it was only their son that can give them a road adding that he has proved the nay sayers wrong by taken the road from where Chief Dickson stopped to the current level.
He said the foundation laying of the bridge to cross to Oporoma was laid by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while promising to continue with the Prosperity Administration policy of opening up the hinterlands with road network when re-elected with hope that God will provide the resources.
He thanked former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for honouring the invitation to commission the project and commended Bayelsans particularly people of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area for maintaining law and order, show of solidarity and support for his administration to achieve the milestone.
Former President Obasanjo while commissioning the road said you can imagine how I feel while coming here adding that only few of you can remember the problems of Nigeria before Independence in this area that is call special area which still remains special because of the difficult terrain.
The former President hinted that Nigeria has paid special attention to this area even before the civil war but did not yield much fruit.
He placed on record that state creation has given those who understand the terrain to take charge emphasizing that the road is a success of creation of state to deal with the special area and commended Governor Douye Diri for continuing with the programmes and policies of his predecessor, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson.
He advised Bayelsans not to change a horse that is running a winning race and urged them to give the miracle governor another opportunity to continue with the good works he is doing and see the road infrastructure he is constructing as a means to promote prosperity
Giving the technical breakdown of the road, Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Hon. Estate Surveyor Moses Teibowei said the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie road is one of the Senatorial roads to open up the hinterlands to enable farmers and fishermen evacuate their products adding that the road when completed will help to decongest the fast growing metropolitan Yenagoa and check sea piracy and other criminal activities on the waterways.
He explained that the project was re-awarded in December 2012 by the Dickson administration and was inherited by the present administration.
Teibowei further stated that the Igeibiri-Angiama section of the road measures 10.75km with completion of a 40-metre bridge as well as a 150-metre bridge at Aguobiri with a 533-metre road single carriageway to Angiama community.
He informed that the Igeibiri-Angiama section was awarded in 2021 and completed in 2023 with the sum of N23.656 billion, which had been fully paid.
In his remarks, the Project Manager, Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company( CCECC) Peter Pan said COVID-19 affected the pace of the work and expressed sincere appreciation to the Bayelsa State Government for the trust and the support given to the company to execute the project. He said the company was very mindful of the protection and perseveration of the environment while constructing the road.
He said they involved local content particularly people from the communities where the road traverses were engaged and thanked them for not disrupting the operations of the company.
The Project Manager thanked Chief Obasanjo whom he described as leader and friend for his support to the company over the years.
