Nigeria - Tension Mounts in Boils Over Bad Roads

Tension Mounts in Boils Over Bad Roads

The Headquarters of the Ogoni people in Rivers State, Bori, is currently on the boil over the deplorable state of their internal roads and lack of power supply 50 years after Nigeria's independence.

Residents of this Ogoni community, which is also the headquarters of Khana Local Government Area, want the Rivers State Government to urgently address their problems before their anger boils over.

In an appeal to Governor Chibuike Amaechi, Bori residents say they want government to expedite action on the construction of their internal roads, claiming that the deplorable state of the roads have subjected them to untold hardship.

A cross section of the residents among them students of the state Polytechnic who spoke to functionaries of the state Ministry of Information and Communications, claimed that their appeal was necessitated by the slow pace of work by the different contractors handling road projects in the area.

Their fear however, is that the dream of Governor Chibuike Amaechi to open up Bori, as a viable urban centre to take care of the Ogoni axis of the state may not be realised before the 2011 general elections.

They want both Amaechi and the Works Commissioner, Dakuku Peterside, to exert pressure on the contractors handling the internal road work to complete their jobs on schedule in order to alleviate their suffering.

''We are wondering why after Governor Amaechi openly declared at a town hall meeting in Bori that the contractors have been adequately mobilised, the progress of work here is still not satisfactory'', they told the information ministry officials.

On the Bori-Boue-Kereke Road which leads to Ataba in Andoni Local Government Area, the people also ezpressed the fear that the contractor may have abandoned the road despite what they described as ''poor quality'' job being executed.

But, Information and Communications Commissioner, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, told AkanimoReports on telephone on Monday that the state government was committed to seeing that every project initiated by is completed.

''The Bori-Boue-Kereke road project cannot be abandoned because as you are aware, the Deputy Governor of this state, Tele Ikuru, is from Andoni Local Government Area'', the commissioner said.

Meanwhile, Bori residents are also pressing the state government to deliver on their promise of providing the area with electricity supply. ''Bori still remains in darkness 50 years after Nigeria's independence'', they said.

ENDS

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