From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Ministry of Works over the collaboration to ensure the construction of the Nembe- Brass Road.
Diri who stated this while inspecting the ongoing construction on the historic Nembe-Brass Road project assured that the high cost of construction materials would not deter the government from ensuring it delivered the road as promised to the people.
Diri, who expressed satisfaction with the level of work, appreciated Tinubu and the Federal Ministry of Works for collaboration.
“Development cannot be arrested as a result of the high cost of construction materials. What we are witnessing will be what they call variation. The company will come up with variation and the Ministry of Works will look at it, evaluate and assess it and agree on the amount due for variation. So, development cannot be arrested in Bayelsa State. So, we will certainly, surely and steadily continue the construction of this road to Brass.
‘’I am very satisfied; it shows that we never played politics with development in this state and all parts of the state are our constituency. So, we are not discriminating, you can see what is going on, construction is still going on before the election, during the election and after the election.
‘’Let me use this opportunity to appreciate and congratulate His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria whom I have met twice and he has given me his words that he has directed the Minister of Works to collaborate by completing the second phase of this road.
“In my last meeting with him, thereafter, the Minister of Works called me and even sent people in collaboration with my Ministry and at the state and the federal. And so, the collaboration has already started.
‘’So, I like to call on the Minister of Works to expedite action so that the moment we are through with our phase, the other phase will also be through so that during this second tenure, I want to see the people of Bayelsa drive in their cars to Brass town,” he said
The Area Manager of SETRACO for Bayelsa and Delta States, J. J Cosme, who is in charge of the road said, they have achieved 65 per cent of the sand filling and almost 2.5kilometers of the sand cement and stone base, noting that the bridge at kilometre 4.9 of the road will start immediately after the Easter break.