Residents of Mkpeti Itam community in Itu local government area of Akwa Ibom state have condemned the abandonment of the road project by the contractor, Junok International Ltd.
Conducting journalists around the project site on Tuesday, the village council chairman, Mr Sunday Akpan, said since April, last year, when the road contract was awarded, the contractor came to site once.
Akpan said the contractor had only cleared a small portion of the road on December 27, 2013, after Sen. Ita Enang, representing Uyo Senatorial district at the National Assembly, visited the site.
He appealed to the federal government to compel the contactor to return to site “before the rain sets in,” adding that the euphoria that accompanied the award of the contract had dwindled.
He said: “We were very happy when this road contract was awarded by the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in April 2013. Only on December 27, 2013, did the contractors, Junok International Ltd, brought in some equipment to site.
“They cleared a small portion of the road shortly after Sen. Ita Enang had visited the site on December 24, 2013. We do not know their where about. You can see the equipment on site but nobody is working.”
An engineer with the company, Mr Kanoyo Okoye, said his firm had not abandoned the contract, explaining that the company had been putting plans in place to enhance the completion of the project.
