Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Chief Edwin
Clark, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu over the state of
roads in the region.
He wants the President to urgently declare a state of
emergency on roads in the Niger Delta region.
In a letter addressed to the president, Clark wondered why
roads in the region are in such a deplorable condition despite the increase in
oil production and prices.
He noted that the deplorable state of roads in the oil-rich
region had become a critical issue, causing immense hardship to its residents.
Clark’s letter reads:
“I am writing this passionate appeal to you to declare an
EMERGENCY in the coming 2025 Budget and also direct your Minister of Works and
its relevant agencies to redouble their efforts to repair these roads. Mr.
President, we therefore demand that in 2025, this situation of the Niger Delta,
the treasure base of the country, should be declared an emergency without
further delay.
“Mr. President, I realise that resources are lean and
demands are many; it is however very difficult to understand why roads in the
communities that produce the resources that keep this country going are in such
a terrible state.
“It is already very sad that the Niger Delta is suffering
from decades of environmental damage which would take us many generations to
recover from.
“So, to imagine that we cannot commute among ourselves and
daily our region produces billions to the national coffers is difficult to
fathom.
“At the current production level of 1.8 million barrels per
day, which we the leaders of the region working with the government have
achieved and are still working to increase, it is difficult to understand why
the roads in our region should be in this very deplorable condition.
“With oil prices now at US$73 per barrel, we reckon that we
are producing enough and we in the Niger Delta cannot be in this condition.
What is required to fix the roads is not even up to a week’s production of oil.
“Benin-Auchi Road- Under normal circumstances, this road
takes commuters 2½ hours. At present, passengers, on average, spend 7 hours on
that road.
“In some cases, it is so bad that travellers have to go
through some rural communities in Ekiti State before coming back to the main
road.”
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