Federal Government, through the ministry of works, has threatened to pull out of the Bodo-Bonny road project if the youths of the host communities do not cooperate fully with the Federal Government, the NLNG and the construction company handling the project, Julius Berger.
The Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, made this known during a meeting he had with leaders of the host communities.
He said that the activities of some youths in the communities are hampering construction activities on the project.
Fashola expressed worry over the position of the elders, who insisted that the project would not be implemented except they were carried along and an additional route would be constructed in Ataba.
He said, “You must work this peace. Today is Thursday, since you said you know the permanent secretary, I will leave you with him. All I want is a peace accord and an invitation to Julius Berger not later than Wednesday, February 28, otherwise I will write a report to Mr. President that it doesn’t seem that this project is ready to go, but we can move the money to another project.
“Whether it is Ataba, Ogoni or Gokana, you must own this project. The people you call militants are not spirits. They take their cue from how you react. You are leaders there. If you go back home today and say it is over, the militants too will calm down. They don’t do anything without alerting the leaders.”
Fashola added, “For us, we can’t keep the money down. The contractor has received his money but now he can’t work. There are projects where contractors are waiting for money, but they don’t have it. That is a contradiction that will not last long.
“So, I will leave you. You know where we stand. We have an idea of where you stand. For me, it is a compromise that holds the project. The NLNG will not be there forever. It took time to even beg them to release this money. So, if you don’t take ownership of the project and put it to use, we might as well tell them to take their money back and that the project is not ready
He said that the Government won’t condone any attempt by the youths to force companies working on the project to withdraw staff saying that this will lead to the Federal Government withdrawing from the project entirely.
However, appeal has gone to the leaders and youths of host communities of the Bonny-Bodo Road Project to fully cooperate with the federal government, the NLNG and the construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria, to enable the project kickoff as scheduled.
The leader of the All Progressives Congress in Bonny, and a chieftain of the party in Rivers State, Hon. George Fubara Tolofari, made the appeal in a Press Statement while reacting to the threat by the minister of Works, Power and Housing.
Hon. Tolofari, a two term member of the Rivers State House of Assembly and former Commissioner of Transport in Rivers State admonished the concerned communities to consider the economic importance of the road as well as the massive employment opportunities it would engender during construction, adding that the communities could not afford to miss the only realistic chance of getting the road done in over forty years.
He assured the federal government, NLNG and Julius Berger of the full support and cooperation of Bonny community, and enjoined the other host communities to follow suit so that the road project would be commenced and concluded on schedule.
Hon. George Fubara Tolofari finally thanked the federal government and the NLNG for making their counterpart funds readily available for the project.
