Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the construction of the Second Niger Bridge and complete the East-West Road project.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama, made the call on Thursday in Asaba when the Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, paid him a courtesy visit.
He lauded the Federal Government’s efforts on roads and other infrastructure.
He said the completion of the projects would boost economic activities in the affected regions and the country in general.
He noted that commuters faced untold hardship crossing the existing Niger Bridge, especially during festive periods, adding that it no longer served the people effectively.
The governor said that the road project had been on for too long, noting that the construction started in 1978.
He said: “We are happy with the Federal Government for trying to put in place the Second Niger Bridge.
“We urge you to quickly start work on the bridge and complete the project as soon as possible.
“Almost every time, we experience untold hardship due to the poor flow of traffic at the bridge end stretching into Asaba.
“That means that the current bridge can no longer serve the people.”
Uduaghan said that if the country must become one of the top 20 economies in the world in 2020, it must be in a hurry because time was running out.
He said: “All stakeholders in the road sector must meet regularly and work out a framework that will quickly address the problems on our road networks.
“Road networks are very important drivers of any economy.”
Uduaghan thanked the minister for holding the National Council on Works meeting in Asaba, adding that the theme: “Funding Road Development in Nigeria for Sustainable Economic Growth,” was apt.
Earlier, Onolememen explained that the conference was an annual event of stakeholders aimed at addressing challenges in the sector.
The minister observed that there was a huge infrastructure gap in the country, particularly in the road sector.
He said that the ongoing conference was expected to evolve policies and frameworks that would help to bridge the infrastructure gap.
He said: “We meet annually to deliberate on pertinent issues aimed at moving the road sector in this country forward.
“We all know that the roads play a critical role in the development of our dear nation, Nigeria.
“The policy framework is necessary to enable the country to build more kilometres of roads that will enable it to attain the objectives of Vision 20:2020.”
Onolememen thanked the state government for the hospitality shown to participants in the National Council on Works meeting in Asaba.