The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has called on the Ministry of Works and the construction companies handling the Ekeremor-Agge road project to accelerate progress.
Diri gave this directive while reaffirming his commitment to completing the project before the end of his administration.
A statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, as made available to TPCN on Saturday, August 30, revealed that Diri made the appeal during an on-site inspection of the ongoing works.
Currently, approximately seven kilometres of the 27.8km first phase, stretching from Ekeremor town to Ndoro with an extension to Peretorugbene, has been sand-filled.
The project is slated for completion within 24 months.
The governor said, “What we have seen so far is encouraging. But I want the Ministry of Works to expedite action as well as Pelfaco, the company that is doing the sand-filling, and Lubrik Construction Company, which is handling the main road construction. They have to make sure that our timelines are met.
“Our first phase target is to get to Ndoro and have a spur to Peretorugbene. If we are able to achieve that in the remaining life of this administration, we are sure that whoever that is coming next will complete the rest.
“There were some delay in starting the project, arising from my initial plan to first inaugurate the Sagbama-Ekeremor axis that we completed and thereafter partner the federal government to take the road further to Agge.
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“Unfortunately, we have not been able to inaugurate the Sagbama-Ekeremor portion, which was handed over to us from the previous administration. So, we thought that rather than waiting, we should start something, and that is why we are here now.”
He further explained, “Our target for the first phase is to reach Ndoro with a spur to Peretorugbene. If we achieve this within the remaining time of this administration, we are confident that the incoming leadership will finish the remaining work.”
The Governor acknowledged that the project faced initial delays due to his plan to first inaugurate the completed Sagbama-Ekeremor section before collaborating with the federal government to extend the road to Agge. However, he noted that due to delays in inaugurating the Sagbama-Ekeremor section, the decision was made to push ahead with the current project.
Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Moses Teibowei, expressed confidence that the two-year timeline is achievable, highlighting that the contractors were fully mobilised. He confirmed that main construction activities would begin next month, including the building of two major bridges: one 80 meters to Ndoro and another 150 meters to Peretorugbene.
In his remarks, Mr. Kazeem Ajala of Pelfaco Limited assured that the sand-filling work to Ndoro would be completed by April next year.
He emphasised that the road will be raised to a height of approximately 2.4 meters, addressing any potential flooding concerns, and affirmed the company’s readiness to meet the project specifications with the state government’s adequate funding.
