Some youths and residents of Rumuekini Community in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State took to the streets on Wednesday, blocking the East-West Road, and disrupting vehicular movement.
The protesters, led by the youth president of the community, Amadi Jaycey, marched from the community civic centre to the Ring Road project being undertaken by the Rivers State Government.
The protesters, including youths, elderly men and women numbering over 100 displayed placards and banners, expressing their grievances against the government’s handling of the project.
The protesters ordered the workers on site to leave with their equipment as they expressed displeasure over the project design at the Rumuekini section saying it was capable of causing accidents.
Speaking to newsmen at the protest ground under the Rumuekine flyover, Jaycey said the community was opposed to the government’s decision to narrow the Ring Road from four lanes to one lane as it approaches the Rumuekini community.
He said, “Instead of bringing it to the same four lanes from the UTC junction, they are doing it one lane. And we do not like it. Stopping the Ring Road in a sharp corner will cause a lot of accidents in our community.”
Jaycey also said the construction had caused flooding, with the newly built drainage channelling water into their homes whenever it rained.
He queried, “They are giving us water from the East-West Road to our community without providing where the water will go. How can we live in Rumuekini?”
He said the community had written several letters to the Ministry of Works, but that no reasonable response had been received.
He called for government’s intervention by dualising the road from the junction to Aluu community and providing tarred internal roads, saying, “We have more than 100 roads, but none is tarred.”
They vowed to continue their protest until the government addressed their concerns and warned that “If the government does not pay us a visit or no invitation, we will continue the protest.
“We will block the East-West Road, and there will be no vehicular movement.”
But reacting to the protest, the Community Liaison Officer,
Augustine Onyewusara, said the community had not been neglected in the project, and their concerns have not been ignored.
Onyewusara stated the community had written to the Ministry of Works, and the Commissioner of Works was aware of the matter.
He further said the government had concluded plans to start another project to rechannel the water to Choba River, but lamented that the dualisation of the road, which started from the UTC to Ogbogoro, Ozuoba down to Rumuosi/Rumuekini flyover and stopped after descending from the Rumuekini flyover.
When contacted, the state Commissioner for Work, Elloka Tasie-Amadi, said the state government was aware of the complaint, but assured the protesters that everything was under control.
“We are aware of all that and we are addressing all the issues,” Tasie-Amadi stated in a terse response to TheNigerian Metro
