By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
The Port Harcourt Ring Road project flagged off by Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Monday is still attracting criticism from some concerned citizens of Rivers State.
They see the project as not being too critical given the present economic realities, adding that the money earmarked for the project should have been channelled to other immediate needs such as poverty alleviation, human capital development, rehabilitation of flood victims and impacted areas, agriculture development, education, security, among others.
Also, a group of Kalabaris who spoke to TPCN on Wednesday lamented that the state government excluded their people from the ring road.
They wondered why the ring road was not designed to link any Kalabari community close to Port Harcourt, especially from the Eagle Island axis.
Goodnews West, a youth leader, expressed disappointment that the state government did not deem it necessary to carry them along in the project.
He stated: “This ring road project is supposed to connect us to the city so that we can access development. The governor said it will connect Rivers people, but why is it not connecting our people? Why are they excluding us?
“At least, it’s easy to link Kalabari land from Eagle Island since they want to connect the Iwofe area. But they still bypassed us, as if we were unimportant to them, whereas we’re the people producing the most money.
“Imagine the volume of oil and gas produced in Akuku-Toru alone – talk about Kula, Soku. All the gas used for NLNG is from Kula. What of Bille in Degema? Why are they treating Kalabari like this?”
A Kalabari chief, Kalada MacDonald, also expressed regret at the Rivers State government’s failure to connect their area to the ring road project.
He described it as a double disappointment given past administrations’ failure to complete the trans-Kalabari road meant to connect them to Port Harcourt.
“It is clear that we’re being marginalised; otherwise, I don’t see any reason why they cannot connect us to this ring road and link us to Port Harcourt, which we have been crying for over the years.
“The trans-Kalabari road that is supposed to connect us to Port Harcourt has been abandoned all these years by past administrations.
“The best attempt at it is the one made by Wike, the immediate past governor, but he did only one phase from a point different from the original plan, which is not beneficial to us. Now that they want to do ring road is the best opportunity to link us through Eagle Island, but they’re not doing so. It’s like a double disappointment for us and very unfair.”
A day before the flag-off of the Port Harcourt ring road, an economist and business coach in Rivers State, Mercy Bello Abu, was quoted as saying that construction of the dilapidated Akpajo-Eleme-Onne axis of the East-West Road should have been the focus of the state government instead of the ring road.
The economist reportedly noted that the private sector would have supported the ring road project if the Rivers State government had contacted them.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara had, at the flag-off of the Port Harcourt Ring Road, said the project would connect the people of Rivers State.
