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Abia state Governor -elect, Dr. Alex Otti, has inspected the dilapidated Port Harcourt road in Aba area of the state with the officials of the Julius Berger construction company.
This is barely one week after the Managing Director of the Julius Berger Company, Dr. Lars Ritcher, visited Otti in his adopted country home in Nvosi in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State.
Otti who took officials of the company to the road spanning 5.9kilometres, said that it was in fulfillment of his campaign promise to bring reputable construction companies to fix roads in the state to make them last longer.
He explained that discussions are still ongoing for the formal engagement of the company to reconstruct the road.
The Governor elect who was represented by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, described Port Harcourt Road as a strategic and important road to the economic survival of the state.
He said; “During the campaigns, Otti promised to bring reputable construction companies to Abia to build our roads. This is what he has done by bringing Julius Berger to inspect the condition of the road. Discussions are going on. During the inspection, we trekked from No 1 Port Harcourt Road to Alaoji end. We saw the tragedy that has befallen our people. Now that Julius Berger has first hand information on the road, we expect to do the needful in a matter of weeks.”
“When it’s awarded, Abians will know everything including the cost and the millage. There will be nothing to hide because Government should be answerable to the people. But the most important thing is that Julius Berger and other reputable grade one construction firms are coming to handle projects in Abia.
“This road is very strategic to our people. So many people have buildings here but unfortunately they have been abandoned due to the deplorable condition of the road. Residents of adjoining roads are also affected. Otti considers it a top priority to begin with Port Harcourt Road while discussions are on-going on other roads. Julius Berger will handle strategic roads including Obohia Road. Otti has made a firm promise to use reputable companies to execute road projects that will stand the test of time.”
He pledged to interact with the property owners along the road and review the demolition of buildings to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the area.
“There will be a holistic analysis of what happened concerning demolished structures along the road. Based on what we gathered, a lot of houses were demolished without any compensation to the owners. Most of the demolished buildings are far from the road. The government had no reason demolishing the buildings but because government wasn’t thorough and humane.
“The government should have sat with the contractor to know whether those buildings actually encroached on the road. They didn’t take those things into consideration but went on demolition spree. We will interact with the property owners and review the demolitions to ease the sufferings of the people.”