BY CHRIS AWHAWHA, WARRI
The traditional ruler of Idjerhe Kingdom, in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State, King Obukowho Monday Whiskey, has called on Federal Government to declare a state of emergency to prioritize the fixing of bad spots on Warri-Sapele-Benin Expressway.
King Whiskey also sought the intervention of other relevant government agencies to address the state of the Ologbo axis which has become very bad and require the urgent attention.
The traditional ruler while chatting with newsmen on Saturday said the bad axis on the road should be repaired, owing to its importance and to prevent motorists and residents living in the area from being cut off from other parts of the country.
“The Warri-Benin Expressway is a major link between the South-West and Southern part of the country. The road may soon stop performing that unique service to Nigerians and other vast road users, owing to the worsening condition which seems to be continuously ignored by the authorities despite several appeals by motorists and other users,” the monarch said.
The Urhobo monarch passionately appealed to President Bola Tinubu to direct the Minister of Works, Engineer David Umahi to declare a “State Of Emergency” on the road for urgent repairs.
He said the Federal Government should fix other important roads, especially the Ifon-Akure, Auchi-Abuja and East- West roads as well as every other bad roads across the South-South to alleviate the suffering being faced by the masses.
“The President Tinubu’s government should know that the masses are suffering. From untold hardship and frequent accident occuring at the failed portions on the bad roads, and several hours motorists and road users spend on the bad roads,” he said
He further charged the new Minister Of Niger Delta Development, Engineer Abubakar Momoh, to take a cue from the Works Minister by not sitting back in Abuja, but be prepared to brace up to the challenges on the ground.
“Niger Delta is a peculiar area which needs urgent attention of development and the Minister cannot just domicile in Abuja. I urge him to start consultations with all stakeholders in the Niger Delta region,” the monarch said.
He further appealed to President Tinubu to closely monitor the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
He urged the president to also set up a “Special Team” to audit the accounts of the Commission with the manner former President Olusegun Obasanjo did, for the sake of transparency and accountability.