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By Young E. Freeborn, Warri
Motorists plying the ever busy East-West federal road, especially from the Ughelli to Port Harcourt axis, have called on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to periodically maintain the road median so as to avoid accidents, kidnappings, robberies and other forms of insecurity on the road.
Speaking to our correspondent at Ughelli, headquarters of Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State on the issue, one of the drivers who gave his name as Mr. Sunday Okoro said, “One of the most disturbing problem apart from pot-holes on the East-West federal road for us, both the drivers and passengers is lack of maintenance on the road median.
“The median is the part that divides the two lanes. If you drive from this Ughelli to Port Harcourt, the whole area is very bushy. Criminals even take that as their refuge and dump. They hide there to perpetuate their criminal activities.
“NDDC shouldn’t fold their arms to wait for the Federal Government. They should act now if they consider the safety and security of the road users as top most priority. The management team should put it in their budget to clear the road median from time to time to avoid unnecessary accident, kidnappings, armed robberies and other attacks by criminals,” he said.
Another driver who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “I want to passionately advise the minister of Transportation to award the maintenance of the road median to a capable contractor to do the clearing job from time to time. This is the only way the government can put a final stop to what criminals are using that part of the road.
“The National Assembly and the Presidency should consider the award of the contract as important as the lives of the Niger Deltans. This is why the contract shouldn’t waste much time before awarding it to a capable contractor. It’s also a way to engage some of our boys in the streets at the moment to have something doing. This will definitely reduce the rate of criminality in the whole of the Niger-Delta region.”
They maintained that, leaving the road median bushy as it’s now is a threat to life and safety in their daily journeys. According to them, “this is why we are urgently calling on the NDDC to clear the road median for us.”
