“Wike Should Tackle Trans-Kalabari Road From N78bn FG Refunds”
3 min read
Edith CHUKU
Leaders of a socio-cultural group, the Great Kalabari-Kobiri Worldwide have intensified effort in their appeal to Nyesom Ezenwo Wike to consider the Kalabari people by flagging up the construction of the Trans-Kalabari road.
The construction of the Trans-Kalabari road leading from the Port Harcourt Eagle Island to Bakana, down to Ogurama, then Bukuma, Tombia, Buguma, Angulama, Krakrama, Obunuma up to Abolema has remained a mirage for years now.
Elders of the Kalabari Kingdom have continued to seek government intervention towards the construction of the road which they said has not seen the light of day.
Speaking with TNN in an exclusive interview, secretary general of the great Kalabari-Kobiri Worldwide, Chief M.O. Raleigh-Joe expressed dismay over the delay in the flag up and commencement of the project which he said was promised Kalabari kingdom by Wike during his electioneering campaign period.
According to him, “in his electioneering campaign, he assured us that that road will be actualized. Four years into his tenure, it has not entered the budget of the state. I remember before the 2019 election, he was confronted towards that project, he told us there is no money, that the state government has no money.”
“Fortunately, the federal government has released billions of naira, today, His Excellency, the governor of Rivers State has received that sum, so we are saying that the Trans-Kalabari road should be considered and that it has not seen the light of the day.,
“So we are appealing to our project governor to include the Trans-Kalabari road, because if that is done, industries will spring up in Bakana, Tombia and it will decongest the population in Port Harcourt. So we are making an appeal that as our governor, we voted for him, he should please do the needful by starting that project at least to Bakana because we are not asking for so much.”
Also speaking during the Kalabari-Kobiri Worldwide round table which was attended by chiefs and elders of the kingdom, the interim president, Alabo Ibanibo Victor called for the unity of the Kalabari kingdom.
He said “we want to unite the Kalabari people, we want to bring everybody together in one language, that is what the great Kalabari-Kobiri wants to achieve, to bring our youths, the future leaders of tomorrow, our leaders together, that is our major drive.
“The great Kalabari-Kobiri are mindful of what has happened in the past and our coming together is to see that we seek redress and ask our noble government to see the way we are seeing concerning the Kalabari people knowing that we have been marginalized for a very long time, our cities are not developed, we have no industry in the Kalabari land, we have no bridges linking the Kalabari, we have no estate, nothing to show if not by the grace of God that we are living, so we the great Kalabari-Kobiri will organize ourselves and meet the people in authority to rethink and look at this, the trans-kalabari road again, believing that this time God will give them wisdom.”