Residents decry slow pace of work on Rumuolumeni road in Port Harcourt

NAN-H-63
Road
By Azubuike Okeh
Port Harcourt, March 17, 2017(NAN) Some residents of Rumuolumeni town in Port Harcourt, Rivers  have decried the slow pace of work at the ongoing road project in the area.
The residents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in PortHarcourt on Friday described the pace of work as `worrisome’.
Chief Ibejikrika Nwanmadu, a businessman, said that with the pace of work,  the road would be impassable during the rainy season.
Nwanmadu said the contractor, ISKAT Designs Limited. has not shown enough willingness to ensure speedy delivery of the project.
“They are still working on the drains for more than six months; they have not even completed it, so we are worried.
“With what we are seeing, we may have to face difficulties accessing our homes when the rains begin heavily as is always the case here,’’ he said.
Another resident, Miss Sandra Awuri, a banker, called on the contractor to expedite work on the road  to make it passable before the rains.
She said that the  project had not actually moved speedily in the past six months, saying that the contractor should  be more proactive.
“The contractor need to fix quickly whatever is the issue and ensure that work on the project is enlivened, we need to access our homes,’’ she said.
Also speaking, Mr Nnadi Okwere, a civil servant, described the road as `important’, saying that Rumuolumeni played host to several oil servicing companies.
“The number of people living in this community is large, not able to fix the road before the rainy season will mean that many people will be locked up here.
“I urge the company and the government to do everything possible to ensure that we can at least pass through the road,’’ he said.
A Community Liaison Officer on the road project, Mr Michael Obodo, said it was not true that the contractor was not proactive and speedy in the implementation.
“ Some internal and external factors can make a project not move as planned, but in this case, work is ongoing on  daily basis.
“The contractor has never left work since it mobilised to site, we urge the residents to be patient, we are poised to deliver,’’ he said. (NAN)
AZU/MNA/MEMO
(Edited by Maureen Atuonwu/Mike Mbonye)