Rivers Community Tackles Julius Berger Over Alleged Poor Road Construction *Threatens To Shut Down Work
Edith CHUKU
Stakeholders of Eneka Community in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, have declared the alleged compression of the ongoing Eneka-Igbo-Etche ring road construction as unacceptable, demanding explanation from Julius Berger Construction Company.
Describing the road as a death trap, the stakeholders appealed to the commissioner for works, director of special projects and all concerned authorities, to visit the site to verify their claims.
They noted that the dual purpose road was poor, bad and wrongly constructed, lamenting that a lane could not contain two small vehicles.
The concerned Eneka natives accused the company handling the project of compressing the road which has enough space for expansion and urged them to either expand or maintain the initial size of the road,
Wondering why the dualisation work did not get to the old guitars, the stakeholders warned that if nothing was done to remedy the situation, they will mobilize and storm the site on a protest.
Speaking, the Director General of Eneka Today, Mr Maxwell Onuma, who explained that natives of the community were peace loving people, called for the urgent intervention of the commissioner for works, director of special projects and all concerned authorities.
Onuma appealed to them to visit the site to verify their claims and proffer solution.
“This is Eneka end of the Igbo-Etche Road flyover. We are community leaders, we’re just here to see to the fact of this bad construction being carried out here.
“This is supposed to be a dual purpose road, but from what we are seeing here, it’s a single road, descending from the flyover and ascending to the flyover. We are still yet convinced how this is going to work out.
“This is the road going to Igbo-Etche and this is where the guitar terminates. Look at the guitar, end to end, is not upto 30 feet. We are saying that this is a very wrong and bad construction by Julius Berger as claimed to be the contractor handling this job.
“We are calling the attention of the ministry of works, Rivers State to come on a site inspection to actually see to this concern of the people here. The commissioner for works, director of special projects and all concerned authorities, we are begging you to come to the rescue of this wrong construction of Eneka flyover in the ongoing ring road. This is actually a poor construction work.
“Walking towards the tip of the flyover. What are they leaving these spaces here for? That’s the old guitar, they would have maintained it, you are dualising a road yet you didn’t even get to the old guitar, why are they compressing the road? This road is not as wide as what it’s supposed to be, to convey vehicles conveniently, look at the other side, the same thing.
“The stretch of this road that is accessing the flyover is not upto 30 meters, look at it, this lane cannot accommodate two vehicles one time, so we are yet to know what type of construction that is going on here.
“We crave the indulgence of Rivers State government via the ministry of works and the director of special projects to come and take a look at this very wrong construction going on in Eneka flyover, we need your attention here before this people will abandon this work here.
“We are calling on the company to explain to us in clear terms, what that narrow construction over there is all about, this construction is unacceptable. Two vehicles cannot access one lane of the road, we are yet to be made to know this type of construction what it’s all about, if it’s not mere deathtrap.
“We want government to come to the site at the tail end of the flyover, heading towards Igbo-Etche.”
