AKWA IBOM GOVERNMENT WILLING TO PARTNER NDDC, OTHER AGENCIES

by Osondu Ahirika 

The Akwa Ibom State government has reiterated her readiness to partner interventionist agencies in areas of road construction for the development of the state.

This was revealed by the Honourable Commissioner for Works, Mr. Ephraim Inyangeyen during a Press briefing in his office in Uyo.

Commissioner Inyangeyen was reacting to criticism that Governor Udom  Emmanuel is obstructing and sending agencies such as Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC,  away from the state. 

However, Inyangeyen explained that, the governor is only asking the interventionist agencies to always liaise with the state government before executing projects in the state. Mr Inyangeyen earlier complained that, the faulty procedure adopted by those executing NDDC road contracts which leaves  shoddy jobs behind that add no value to the infrastructural needs of the state. 

Shedding more light on the State government's stand, Commissioner Inyangeyen revealed that, it is unacceptable to the state government that roads are stone based, ashpalted and tarred without first, working out the alignments, drains, as well as, excavating and removing the unsuitable top soil, to ensure quality and durability of the road constructed, which is what some of the interventionist jobs are about. 

The Works Commissioner also decried a situation whereby roads which are already profiled by the state government, are also listed by the NDDC as roads they are intervening in, which leads to duplicity. He opined that, consultation and proper collaboration with the State government could have eliminated such duplication of projects. 

He challenged that NDDC leadership to open up on why they have rebuffed every entreaty to interface with the State government for the streamlining of projects they are embarking on. 

Asked if the conflict of interest over road construction with NDDC has any political undertone, the Commissioner replied that Akwa Ibom State government does not politicise issues of infrastructural development. Commissioner Inyangeyen rather maintained that, since Akwa Ibom State is largely the mainstream of the money that accrues to the NDDC, and being lucky to have an Akwa ibom son at the helm of the agency to the State should ordinarily benefit more with real and meaningful projects. He however expressed sadness that, politics has compromised that advantage. 

The Commissioner also confirmed that Youth Avenue, Mbiabong Etoi road and some other road construction project reportedly done by NDDC are not known to the officials of the agency in the state, explaining that the this was reason why the State government barred those purporting to be constructing the road in the name of NDDC to stop working until proper clarification is concluded.

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