Rivers And Six Firms To Spend N1.5bn On East-West Road

The Rivers State Government and six major firms in the state have released a sum of N1.5bn for the rehabilitation of a section of the East-West Road from Eleme Junction to Onne. The project, which was initiated by the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, would be handled by Reynolds Construction Company, one of the contractors working on the entire East-West Road. Speaking during the inauguration on the emergency road repair initiative in Eleme Local Government Area, Wike explained that he decided to go into partnership with the six companies in order to ensure that
motorists no longer spend several hours on the road before getting to their destinations. Wike explained that the N1.5bn being released for the project represented 50 per cent of the entire contract sum, adding that the contractor, RCC, was expected to complete the portion of the road covering six kilometres. The governor, who noted that many companies were planning to leave the state as a result of the bad condition of the road, added that such companies would change their minds after the completion of the road. He appealed to the people of the area to support the construction company handling the project to enable it to complete the job within two months. Wike had earlier threatened to sanction any of the firms in the state that failed to release funds pledged for the rehabilitation of roads. The governor, who spoke at Indorama Petrochemicals Limited in Eleme during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the repair of a part of the East-West Road, urged the firms to shun bureaucratic bottlenecks and pay the amount pledged to RCC without delay.
He cautioned that he would not hesitate to stop any of the concerned companies that refused to release funds as agreed from operating in the state. Wike argued that since the companies were making profit from their investments in Rivers, it was necessary for them to be part of the development of the state. “If you don’t pay as agreed, I will not allow you to operate in the state. We all agreed that we will contribute to the repair of the East-West Road,” he said.