From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has said the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District Road linking Oporoma, the riverine headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, was crucial to the state’s economic development.
Governor Diri who stated this when he inspected one of the ongoing bridge projects at Angiama community expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on the 22.2km Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie road project undertaken by his administration.
The bridge over the Silver River at Aguobiri community is already completed while the one linking Oporoma is within touching distance to the headquarters of the oil-rich local government.
Diri described the project as very fundamental to the state and particularly to the people of the local government and assured that it will be delivered on schedule.
According to him, his administration was committed to ensuring that the project experienced no hindrances with funding.
“We are happy with the steady progress on this project. You know this bridge is one of the technical aspects of construction and I am elated with the work.
“I have told the construction company that we have to keep to the timeline of completing this bridge. This project is fundamental to us as a state and particularly to the people of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
“This is one of the local government headquarters in the state you cannot access by road and this bridge will make it accessible when completed.”
Also, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Moses Teibowei, attributed the steady progress on the project to adequate funding.
Teibowei expressed confidence in the ability of CCECC, the company handling the job, to deliver on target.
He explained that the temporary bridge done by the company at Angiama was to enable work on the last phase to link Oporoma and the Otuan communities.
Some youths of the Angiama community led by Temple Newman-Dickson and Julius Kuraideide who spoke to journalists, expressed joy over the project.
According to them, they were impressed with the commitment of the state government to the project and the quality of work done so far.
They assured that as immediate beneficiaries, they would protect the project and the contractors till it is completed.