Senate has set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the consistent failure of governments to complete the East-West road since 2006.
The Upper Chamber set up this committee on Tuesday after considering a motion sponsored by Senator Barinada Mpigi on the urgent need for construction of the Onne, Eleme axis of the East-West road
The Senate further directed the ad hoc committee to invite the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, the Managing Director of RCC Construction Company, and permanent secretaries of the Ministry of Works and Housing, Niger Delta Affairs, Petroleum Resources and Finance.
They are to present detailed information on reasons for prolonged delays and abandonment of the project.
In his lead debate, Senator Mpigi Barinada (PDP-Rivers) said the 7 km stretch of the Federal Government Trunk A road — a major economic artery in the Niger-Delta region which traverses the Eleme-Ogoni corridor and also connects the South-South, South-East and Western parts of this country — remains moribund.
He further stated that despite spending huge funds on the project, such a critical national project, if abandoned, would bring untold hardship and neglect and exacerbate the suffering and pain of the people.
Senator Mpigi also wants the Federal Government to consider the attendant loss of revenue that would have accrued to the government, given the project’s abandonment.
