Completion Agenda: There Will Be Harvest Of Road Projects In A’Ibom Before 2023 – Ephraim Inyang-eyen
As part of the completion agenda of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration, Akwa Ibom State will witness unprecedented infrastructural rainanssance and harvest of road projects across the entire state before 2023.
The state commissioner for works Mr Ephraim inyang-eyen who disclosed this during exclusive interview with Crystal Express called for continuous support and prayers for Governor Emmanuel whom he said is passionate and determined to transform the entire landscape of the state.
RELATED: Completing The Completion Agenda
According to the workaholic commissioner, “I will tell you that for direct labour job, as at today we have 201 numbers. We have commissioned about 42 of them and I am very sure that about 28 of them will be ready by May 2020. The other major jobs that are more than 3 kilometres are awarded by the Finance and General Purposes Committees (FGPCs) chaired by the governor and we have them in 29 local government areas of the state. Oruk Anam has 4 Ikot Ekaide-Ikot Okoro, Ikot Ebritam handled by Total Engineering; Ikot Ebritam-Ekefe by Almadal; Ikot Ebritam-Ibesit Okpokoro by Nsik Engineering and Ibesit Okpokoro by Ikot Ikara by GNK. Even though people said it was slow in delivering the projects, I assure you that by May 2020, Oruk Anam will be enjoying 3 completed roads. So FGPC awarded contracts is 58, direct labour jobs is 201. If you sum them up, then you will see that there was no error when I said that we have done over 1,700 kilometers of roads; if I flag off newly awarded jobs, then we will be heading to about 1800 kilometres of roads, some completed but most of them ongoing.
The works commissioner further explained,” The Governor is also doing his best to raise funds to ensure the completion of the projects. And there will be harvest of roads. All the dualized roads we have in the state came with street lighting. We are presently fixing street lights from Mbioto to Ikot Akpan Eshiet and the light will get to Etinan. We will have a situation one can drive from Uyo through Ikot Oku Ikono flyover to East-West Road with street lights at night and any other route you move through and that will make the entire state, a metropolitan city. We must develop the entire state not just the capital city. We can’t afford to have a state that goes to sleep by 6pm anymore.
RELATED: Of Contractors And Completion Agenda
Speaking on the forensic audit ordered by the president on NDDC, Mr Inyangeyen said his earlier positions on the activities of the Agency have been justified.
In his words,” I feel absolutely justified. I was excited when the current minister of the Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said no road should be constructed in the South-South without drainages and that is what I have been championing alone. When I said NDDC was a fraud, people thought I was crazy. But I have the courage to speak my mind because we must come to the society as leaders to call a spade a spade. Today a minister in the APC government has come to affirm what I kept saying earlier. I didn’t speak as one in the opposition. I speak the truth and believe me a lot of Nigerians were actually amazed that those words were spoken. Forensic audit can only be done where there is certainty that a sizeable level of fraud has been committed. It is not a daily affair. So I have been justified by the things I said earlier.
Taking a swipe on the people beating the drumbeat for 2023 governorship election in the state less than six months after the swearing of the incumbent, Mr. Inyangeyen who is also the founder Transformation Initiative for the Empowerment of Ibom People said, “I think it is too early and I believe that the governor should be supported and given space to justify the last mandate our people gave to him. They gave him that mandate for four years and just six months into the new administration drums, of another election is on. That is desperation and desperate people have nothing to offer; men with content are not desperate. We should spend the next two years working for Akwa Ibom people and let the Governor bring all that God put in him to the front burner so that the people of Akwa Ibom will be better for it and it would be reasonable to go back and explain to the electorate what we have achieved with the last mandate. In my own opinion, the noise is absolutely unnecessary. Let me say that probably, the person that will be governor is yet to come into the picture as he may be somewhere doing what God has destined him to do and at the appointed time, God will bring and reveal him
