Lawan assures A’Ibom of FG intervention on Ikot Ekpene-Aba Road

Ini Billie, Uyo

The Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan has assured the people of Akwa Ibom State that the Federal Government will intervene in the Ikot-Ekpene/Aba road.
Speaking during the commissioning of the 25 kilometre Uyo-Ikot Ekpene Road on Tuesday in Ikot Ekpene executed by the Akwa Ibom State Government, Lawan said he would investigate why work of the road was abandoned and ensure that construction work resumes on the road.
Lawan noted that Governor Udom Emmanuel has shown by his intervention in Federal roads that he was committed to partnering the Federal Government in development projects, adding that he would ensure that the federal government reimburses the state government on federal roads undertaken by the state government.
“I thank you for the opportunity to commissíon the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene dualised road. Governor Udom Emmanuel here is what I call justice, he is unity, peace, progress, he is development.
“I must commend you for continuing with this project when it was left at 20 percent completion, you took over this road because of the love for your people, particularly the people of Ikot Ekpene. I must commend you for that. I commend you for being progressive.
“What you have done here is to show the way on how we can develop our country, our state and our communities. The business of infrastructure development if it will ever serve the population and citizens of Nigeria must be a business of all tier and levels of government.
“Though this is a federal road but because you want the people of Ikot Ekpene particularly and Akwa Ibom in general to have a very good road, you have completed this road. This is very significant and of course I heard you very well when you said you want the federal government to refund you for constructing this federal road. You are right.
“What the Federal government wants in the sub-nationals is partnership, cooperation and development together. So for me I think you deserve a refund. And I am going to talk to the Minister of Works and Housing to present a request for refund for this project because I believe that that will encourage you to do more. It will also encourage other states governors to do the same.
“I must also commend the Federal government for providing funds to states that have done something like this. So you deserve this refund and we will push for that. I have also listened to you that this road should dovetail the road that leads to Aba that the Federal government has awarded. Your Excellency I am going to look into that and pursue it very vigorously.
“Therefore I want to assure you that you have a worthy partner in the Federal Government. So we will push the road up to Aba, we will find out what happened, why the contractor abandoned the road,” he stated.
Also speaking, Governor Udom Emmanuel said roads were critically strategic to his completion agenda as it was one of one three gates to his completion agenda, as such, he has taken the construction of roads seriously.
Emmanuel explained that though the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene was a Federal Government road, he decided to compete the road started by the administration of former governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio because the main beneficiaries and users of the road were the people of Akwa Ibom.
He urged the Federal Government to reimburse the state on the construction of Federal roads, saying the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road was a continuation of the Calabar-Itu road that has been abandoned after earth work was done, noting that the same road leads to Aba.
“In the last six years and few months, and some weeks, we have commissioned very valuable economic projects and other critically soft and hard infrastructure in this state. This particular one, Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road gives me what I call an exceeding joy.
“I want to reassure the Senate President that now that he is here for this one, you are going to come again very soon because there are so many projects to be commissioned. I am grateful that you are here and have repeated so many times that roads are critically strategic to our completion agenda because we talk about the three gates ways, and road is one of them.
“Let me also make an appeal, this road will not be so much of economic value if the federal government has awarded contract from Calabar to Ikot Ekpene and to Aba. Sometime in 2018, Julius Berger started the earth work somewhere, immediately we were about going for election, that road was abandoned, they stopped at that initial earth work. Right now, a journey of one hour, you would be lucky and blessed if you do it in four hours.
“That road empties straight into this road and from here into Aba. Even this one we are commissioning, in the records, it is a proper Federal government road but since this road is into the heart of our state, we couldn’t wait, we decided to undertake it. I also believe you would drop a gavel so the Minister of Works can reimburse us for doing the work for him.
“We are trying to make sure we link the entire state by this quality of roads. We are expecting a lot more from the federal government, we need to be encouraged, we need to be supported,” he stated.