East West Road gulped N286bn without completion —FG

The Federal Government said yesterday that the sum of N286 billion had been paid for the dualisation of the East-West Road project, which is yet to be completed. According to the government, the project was estimated at N560 billion, which in itself was an upward variation from the original N211 billion awarded in 2006 by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Speaking yesterday, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru, at a meeting with members of the Association of Community Leaders of nine oil producing states in Abuja, assured the people of the Niger Delta region that none of the ongoing projects being executed by the ministry in the region would be abandoned.

He said: 'The East-West Road is not abandoned except that work on the project is very slow. We will soon find out why the work is slow. Contractors will tell you it was because of lack of funds. But we will soon tell you our own reasons why the work is slow.

'One thing I can say is that by the budget on the road, more than N560 billion was estimated and for now, over N286 billion had been paid, which in my view should have completed the road.'