Members of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Works have called for the declaration of a national emergency on the deteriorating condition of federal roads in Cross River State, South-South Nigeria.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Akinola Alabi, who led other members on an inspection of the Calabar–Itu road, one of the two major gateways connecting Cross River State to the rest of the region and the country, lamented its extreme and deteriorating condition.
Alabi, who was accompanied by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission, Senator Asuquo Ekenyong, described the hardship suffered by commuters on the road as the most harrowing experience.
While driving along the road, the lawmakers, alongside media representatives and aides, experienced firsthand the frustration and trauma of motorists trapped for more than three hours in a gridlock caused by the road’s collapse.
Public hearing
The lawmakers also stated that they would convene a public hearing to summon contractors and top officials from the Federal Ministry of Works regarding the worsening state of the roads.
“As the chairman of the House Committee on Works, I have seen different projects, different roads, but this is the worst I have seen. I have never seen something as terrible as this. I know that a few years ago this project was awarded, and moving from asphalt to concrete has practically derailed the entire work here,” Alabi told journalists.
He questioned the capacity of some of the contractors handling sections of the Calabar–Itu road, describing their performance as unsatisfactory and unimpressive.
“Not all contractors have got the capacity to carry out the concrete road. We need a national emergency on this road, and as a parliament, we are calling for a public hearing on this matter,” Alabi explained.
According to him, the contractors, the Federal Ministry of Works, including its directors and the Minister, David Umahi, would be invited for the public hearing.
On his part, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Senator Rufai Hanga, said he fully supported the call for a national emergency and public hearing.
“I am one hundred percent in support of the call for a national emergency and public hearing. I have seen it all. I am not satisfied and something must be done,” Hanga stated.
Similarly, the Senator representing the Southern Senatorial District, Senator Asuquo Ekenyong, recalled that the road project was initiated following a motion he presented on the floor of the Senate.
“This road was initiated almost a year ago by a motion I read on the floor of the Senate, and that was instigated by the fact that this road has remained in this state of disrepair for several years,” Ekenyong said.
He recounted the frequent carnage and near-death experiences of commuters along the road..
He said;“We brought this to the floor of the Senate. We went to work, we summoned the ministry, the contractors, and mounted pressure for the reconstruction of this road. Well, we are a year out now and I am not seeing significant progress.”
Highlighting the broader economic impact, Ekenyong noted that the bad road had crippled social life, economic activity, and agricultural production in the region.
“Cross River is the bedrock of production in the South South, and I guess of Nigeria as a whole,” he stressed.
The Senator promised that the lawmakers would take a proactive oversight approach to ensure tangible progress for the people Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, who have endured hardship for more than a decade.
“We have seen columns and lines of evacuation trucks moving cement, flour, petroleum products, agricultural produce, and chippings. All the construction aggregates gotten for construction in the South South are from Akamkpa, which is next to Odukpani, and I am the senator representing this senatorial district. This happens to be my local government of origin. I am ashamed,” he added.
PIAK