… As D’Gov Advises Epie Devt Organization To Broaden Its Activities
From Kenechukwu Obiajuru, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Government says it is carrying out a comprehensive redesign and rehabilitation of failed roads in Yenagoa, the state capital, in line with its urban renewal policy.
The state Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who stated this during a courtesy visit on him by the leadership of the Epie Kingdom Development Organization (EKD in Government House, Yenagoa, assured residents that government would fix all deplorable roads to make for easy movement in the state capital.
A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, quoted the Deputy Governor as saying that the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure had already begun rehabilitation works on some of the internal roads, including Saptex and Okaka roads as well as failed sections along the busy Mbiama-Yenagoa Road.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo stressed that government was poised to implement the comprehensive plan for a full redesign and engineering of all the bad roads to address the issues of poor drainage and flooding being experienced in some parts of the capital city.
The Deputy Governor advised the Epie Kingdom Development Organization to look beyond its socio-cultural role of organising the annual Epie Festival by lending its voice to issues of governance and development of the Epie Kingdom and the state in general.
He also called on the organization, which comprises all the 17 communities in the Epie Kingdom, to collaborate with government and its relevant security agencies to expose criminals and cultists in their areas to ensure improvement in the prevailing peace and stability in the state.
His words: “On the issue of the roads that are bad, some of them require full redesign because their filling is too low. So, the government is trying to see how we can redesign those roads.
“The Ministry of Works and Infrastructure is already working on a full, comprehensive redesign of the roads. We had carried out some rehabilitation works in instalments on some of the internal roads in the state capital before like Okaka, Saptex and others.
“Although there are various needs competing for the available resources of the state, I can assure that we are going to work on all the bad internal roads in our state capital.”
In his presentation, the President of the Epie Kingdom Development Organization (EKDO), Dr. Wisdom Albert, called for government’s intervention to acquire 50 plots of land across the Epie Creek for them to build a befitting Palace for the Obenibe and a central events playground for the hosting of the Epie Annual Festival, which is being rotated yearly among the 17 communities.
Dr. Wisdom Albert, who appealed for more jobs and political appointments for Epie sons and daughters, also emphasized the need for government to address the deplorable condition of some internal roads in Yenagoa.
