News
Delta Monarch Expresses Worry Over Agbor-Abraka-Eku Road
…Says Project Not Tied To Budget
By Vincent Douglas
The Ovie of Umiaghwa – Abraka Kingdom in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, HRM, AVM, Lucky Ochuko Ararile (Rtd), Avwaeke 1, has expressed worry over the deplorable condition of the highway, linking Agbor, Abraka and Eku, all major towns in Delta State.
The monarch made the worrisome observation while addressing members of NUJ-Oasis Magazine Chapel during a courtesy visit to the royal father at his Palace in Oria – Abraka recently.
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The King noted that the people in the areas and the road users alike, having pleaded for government attention and intervention over the years, have exhausted their goodwill, and now patiently waiting for the people in government and the relevant agencies to do their job.
Stressing that the road was never tied to the budget as money was specially made available for the project, the monarch posited that Nigeria is an oil producing country with all the resources that any country can dream of, therefore the needful ought to be done for the people to have sense of belonging in a country they call their own.
He said that the road project was specially funded with a Hundred Billion Naira then, wondering “who are now the beneficiaries of the money”?
“The road as it is, is not tied to the budget because the money was brought before the contracts were awarded that time. So, the money is there, or more appropriately, the money is suppose to be there. So, there is no single reason why that road should not have been completed, maximum, one year,” he stated.
Speaking further, the Ovie of Umiaghwa-Abraka pleaded that money should be made available to complete the road, adding that the portions that were made during the second term election of President Buhari were completed in less than three months.
“They completed that portion in less than three months but immediately when results were announced, that was when the project stopped,” the monarch lamented.