The Delta State Government has apologized to the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Ndudi Elumeku, over the embarrassment the delay in the execution of the NYSC National Orientation Camp road project in Issele-Uku caused him and the people of Aniocha North Local Government Area, particularly the people of Issele-Uku and Onicha-Uku.
The State Commissioner for Works (Urban Roads and Highways) Mr. Noel Omodon, tendered the apology in an exclusive interview with two Online Newspapers, cshowcasenews.com and Banneronlinenews.com, in his office in Asaba.
Omodon said the delay in the road work was partly due to the need to correct a technical defect on the project detected by the contractor when he initially commenced work on the road, pointing out that he drew the attention of the state government to error and it became necessary to review the contract to accommodate the correction.
He revealed that the correction entailed channeling the flood water at the lowest part of the road through Captain Nwosu street down to a channel by the Issele-Uku/Idumuje-Unor road.
The Works Commissioner also stated that the contracting firm, Neodede Construction Company, was partly to blame for not trusting the state government’s commitment towards taking care of all his fears in the review.
“We want to really appreciate the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu. He is a very strong and supportive person. He has been very supportive. He is not the kind of person that sits down and waits until a miracle happens. He will always reach out. All the work he has been doing in that area, we are quite appreciative and we want to assure him that we will not let our garbs down.
“Rt. Hon. Elumelu has been very assertive about getting the problem sorted out and he has done a lot, very frankly, but we just feel that we are letting him down because the contracting firm was not following up with his pace. But I hope we are not causing him too much embarrassment.
“We shall definitely catch up with him. We regret the embarrassment it must have caused him, but it is very unfair for the people not to realize that he is doing a lot for them”.
He condemned in strong terms what happened at Idumu-Ogo and said it was sad and unfair for those people to fail to appreciate all the good works the Minority Leader had been doing.
Omodon further revealed that the contractor had gone back to site and that construction of drains along Captain Nwosu street had commenced in earnest.
The Commissioner stated that all that was needed for the road project was being provided for the contractor, adding that sharp sand had been approved for filling instead of laterite because of the rain.
“We are going to try very hard to ensure that we deliver all the roads including the palliative work the state government is doing on the Onicha-Ugbo/Idumuje-Ugboko road. It is a federal government road, but we are working on it.
He said in order to tackle the challenge of vehicular movement on the NYSC National Orientation Camp road, plans were on to activate and open up the ongoing Onicha-Ugbo/Idumuje-Ugboko road with a view to allowing traffic from Idumuje-Ugboko to the Benin/Asaba express road and through Onicha-Ugbo to Idumuje-Ugboko.
“Our problem is that they are shifting all the traffic to Issele-Uku and that is not fair. Our roads there are not meant for such heavy traffic. We are discussing with our contractors handling the Onicha-Ugbo-Idumuje-Ugboko road palliative work for them to bring in bulldozers and granite to seal off the bad portions on the ongoing project and allow movement of vehicles.
“It is going to cost us much, but we are committed to doing it! Thank God we have gotten a partner, a company that is in the quarry business whose business is being affected and they have agreed to supply the granite. So in no distant time, we are going to bring back all traffic back to Onicha-Ugbo from where they will connect the express and not our roads.
“We are very sympathetic with the pains the people of Aniocha North, particularly the people of Issele-Uku and Onicha-Uku have to go through as a result of the road.
“Everybody is embarrassed about it and I hope to get all the heavy duty vehicles out of Issele-Uku in the shortest possible time”, he said.
The Commissioner assured that moves had been initiated to present a memo to the State Executive Council on the need to rehabilitate some of the damaged roads, occasioned by the influx of heavy duty vehicles passing through the Issele-Uku metropolis to access the Benin – Asaba – Onitsha Expressway, particularly, the Ogbeofu road.
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