East-West Road to be completed Dec 2021 – Akpabio

The Federal Government will complete and deliver the entire stretch of the East-West road, from Sections 1 to 5 by December 6, 2021, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has said.

The minister made the disclosure at a meeting of counterparts on the complementary programme for the road project in Abuja.

A statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations at the ministry, Patricia Deworitshe, reported Akpabio as saying that the ministry hoped to deliver completely Sections I-IV of the East-West road by December 6.

Then ensure the revalidation and award of contract for Section V covering Oron-Calabar initially awarded to RCC Construction Company by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), but was later abandoned due to the astronomical cost of the project when it was re-routed.

Akpabio, who appreciated the commitment of members of the counterparts’ team, noted that tasks would not be complete without a virile management support for the road.

“It is not just the road that is important but also the management of the corridor such that it will enable the development of aesthetics and other infrastructures along the road network,” he said.

Akpabio added that the commitment of the ministry to the roundtable meeting must therefore be complemented by the support of all the counterparts in terms of action to ensure the beauty and sustainability of government efforts and development agencies on the road over the years.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Babayo Ardo, said the road traversing five states in the region had been under construction since 2006, adding that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had promised to ensure its completion by 2021.

Babayo said in order to realise this promise, the ministry was not only pooling resources together to ensure its completion, but also that the completion and management of the road will top the main item on the agenda at the 4th National Council of Niger Delta slated for between December 14 and 19, 2020 in Port Harcourt.