Recently, Governor Nyesom Wike pulled a crowd to Eleme in Rivers state to commission a road abandoned by previous administrations both at the state and federal levels. GODWIN EGBA reports.
Ahead of 2023, Governor Nyesom Wike has re-enforced mutual bond with Eleme people through infrastructural development. He threw his wooing net opened recently at the commissioning of 11.5km Eleme-Oyigbo road last Wednesday, when he pulled a mammoth crowd from the length and breadth of the state and country to the commissioning ceremony
Gov Wike had begun to present himself as a beautiful bride to the people of Eleme local government area of the state ahead of 2023 general elections as he presented only one road project (Eleme-Oyigbo road) commissioned by Senator Ali Mohammed Ndume, Senate majority leader on Wednesday with a promise to do more as 2021 roles on.
History of the road
Historically, the road links Eleme with Oyigbo local government area which has been in existence for the past 150 years but suffered abysmal decay in the hands of past administrations for years.
Suffice to say that the road had existed far before the construction of the East-West road from Eleme junction linking Akwa-Ibom and Cross River states.
The road is a direct route from Alesa Eleme refinery junction to Agbonchia linking Afam in Oyigbo local government area. Hitherto, it became a very dangerous route where dare- devil men such as armed robbers, kidnappers and ritualists operated.
Before 2015 when Governor Wike took over the reign of leadership of the state, neither Eleme nor Oyigbo innocent business men and women dare that road any time beyond 4:00pm for fear of unexpected attack by armed robbers and other criminal elements holding sway to the chagrin of resident security agencies in Eleme and Oyigbo axis.
How Wike turned around the abandoned road
But when Governor Wike became the chief security officer of the state, the road begged for his attention not just for security reason, but for a holistic rehabilitation or reconstruction for socio-economic values.
Despite the insecurity and deplorable condition of the road, trucks, tankers and container-carrying cargos began to divert from the East-West road to the Eleme-Oyigbo road because the road has degenerated to a death trap till date.
Wike saw the ugly situation as an advantage to his electioneering campaign; therefore, he promised the Eleme people that he would give the road the desired modern construction for their socio-economic interest.
That was a sealed covenant between him and the Eleme industrial and commercial-rich area of the state. Consequently, he engaged a tested professional construction company by the name Lubric Nigeria Limited to bring the fortune of the road back to life. Some professional construction engineers who spoke with Blueprint attested that the contractors delivered a test of time quality job.
The commissioning day of the road at Eleme Nchia market/Agbonchia round-about was like a day of governorship campaign of sort as over 3,000 Eleme people turned out in jubilation.
Governor Wike did not only succeed to bring down a federal senator and his cabinet to commission the project but most exciting was the presence of Amayanabo of Opobo Kingdom, His Majesty, King Dandason Douglas Jaja, and other distinguished personalities.
Wike re-enacts pact with the people
In his speech, the governor reminded Eleme people that the commissioning was a testimony of his 2015 campaign promise that he would bring the near-dead Eleme-Oyigbo road back to life alongside other projects such as re-building and renovation of schools in Eleme.
Wike used the occasion re-affirm his promise beyond the road project as he also gave the Onne Secondary School a befitting facelift and as well constructed a new Government Secondary School in Ogu-Bolo local government area.
He also re-enforced his pledge that from the month of January, he would give a new brand facelift to the ancient Ascension High School Ogale and Alesa Comprehensive High School.
Governor Wike excited Eleme people more as he extolled the accountability trust of the state commissioner for finance, Mr Isaac Kamalu, an Eleme son, attesting that he is one of his cabinet egg heads that does not compromise integrity and prudent management of public resources; therefore, his administration would come back to reconstruct Eleme internal roads.
Earlier in his welcome speech, the Eleme local government area council chairman, Dr Philip Okparaji, noted that Governor Wike had left an indelible mark as governor of the state by reconstructing the Eleme-Oyigbo death trap road.
According to him, “The road now has become a saving grace to thousands of business operators in the Onne Oil and Gas free zone, Port Harcourt Refinery and Indorama Petrol Chemicals and Fertiliser Company who divert their trucks from the Federal East-West dilapidated road through the new Eleme-Oyigbo internal road.
Eleme king speaks
The paramount ruler of Ogale Eleme community, His Royal Highness, Chief Godwin Bebe Okpabi, who spoke on behalf of the Eleme King, attested that Governor Wike did more than the reconstruction of the road, noting that hitherto, the road had degenerated to a fearful forest for the past decades that past military and civilian administrations neglected to revive.
Speaking further he said, “Governor Wike came and fulfilled his campaign promises and now socio-economic activities between us, the Ndoki people of Oyigbo and the Eastern states like Abia would now enjoy unprecedented boom.
“We should not only be grateful to Governor Wike for the road, what about our Eleme Nchia General Hospital situated in my Ogale community which he (Wike) has injected new life as a modern hospital with necessary medical facilities, what about our schools in Onne and others which have been given a standard face shif? Eleme people remain grateful to his administration,” Okpabi noted.
Ndume extols Wike
The special guest of the day who came to commission the celebrated road, Senator Ali Mohammed Ndume, commended his host, Wike, for keeping to his campaign promises not only to Eleme People but to all the grass root communities of the state such as in the Ogoni areas, noting that the infrastructural development he had witnessed within the South-east senatorial constituency covering Ogoni-Eleme-Oyigbo had confirmed wike’s spiced leadership with phenomenal achievements.
“Governor Wike among his peers has stood out on the platform of truth, accountability and transparency despite opposition; his leadership is distinctive from other contemporaries to emulate,” Ndume said.
The senator in his immaculate white wears from head down, noted that from all infrastructural evidence on ground the state is not only being transformed back to its lost glory of ‘Garden City’ but now metamorphoses into ‘Golden City’ by Wike’s administration.
Ndume appealed to both Eleme and Oyigbo host communities to secure the road against environmental abuse so as to serve their socio-economic interest favourably.
It was a unique event as Wike seemingly pulled down the cream of his cabinet members, state House and National Assembly members, Rivers State Council of Chiefs, PDP chieftains, PDP women leaders and Eleme Traditional Council under the leadership of His Royal Highness11th, King Philip Obelley.
Governor Wike did not only succeed to bring down a federal senator and his cabinet to commission the project but most exciting was the presence of Amayanabo of Opobo Kingdom, His Majesty, King Dandason Douglas Jaja, and other distinguished personalities.
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