Road Rehabilitation: ACN Calls For Probe

The attention of the Rivers State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has been drawn to statements credited to the Commissioner for Works, Victor Giadom, disclosing the intention of the government of Rivers State to commence rehabilitation works on roads in the state capital.

While the Action Congress of Nigeria applauds genuine efforts of government to rehabilitate failed roads and streets in the state capital, the party calls for painstaking investigations to identifying the causes of the dilapidated state of these roads and streets, bearing in mind the fact that these roads and streets were repaired barely two years ago.

Paradoxically, the Action Congress of Nigeria reveals that these same roads and streets, that government intends to repair all over again, were same that were said to have been rehabilitated and maintained by the Rivers State Road Maintenance Agency and The Operation Zero Potholes.

The party calls on the Rivers State Government to probe activities of these two failed interventionist agencies to determine how tax payers' money claimed to have been invested in these roads and streets were employed; the qualities of materials used and verify if actually these roads and streets were repaired as claimed and who were the contractors.

The ACN remarks that commencement of another round of rehabilitation on these same roads and streets devoid of looking at preceding activities that were complete sham, underscores government's lack of accountability and promotion of fraudulent practices.

The Action Congress of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter laughs at the Amaechi-led administration for lacking the political strength and character to question some ''powerful politicians” close to the Governor, whose activities in key areas of the state, like road rehabilitation and construction, have made nonsense of his campaign for zero tolerance for corruption and quality service delivery.

We make bold to say that the Amaechi-led government is a failure, totally lacking in accountability and acting as an umbrella for corrupt officials of government.

The party said the intention of the Rivers State Government to begin another round of roads repair and maintenance on same roads and streets without proper investigation into previous exercises is to create emergency money for political jobbers of the Peoples Democratic Party, political friends of the Governor and relations, to the detriment of Rivers people.

The failure of the Rivers State Government to call for investigation into previous roads and streets maintenance and rehabilitation exercises in the state and make such findings public will expose the insincerity of Governor Rotimi Amaechi in fighting corruption.

The party laments that roads and streets in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State are death traps, causing accidents on daily basis.

The ACN regrets that Rivers State leads in potholes in the country with 50,200 precarious potholes on roads and streets in the capital of Rivers State, as made public by an international non-governmental Organization, The Environment Watch, following a five-month painstaking study of the condition of roads and streets in the state capital.

The report of the study reveals that our roads and streets are perilous. We therefore, call on government to declare an emergency in this sector.

Jerry Needam
Publicity Secretary
ACN, Rivers State

Monday, August 20, 2012