The governor of Rivers State Sir Siminilaye Joseph Fubara,on Friday December 20,2024.Flagged-off the Buguma-Abalama-Tema-Degema-Abonnema road project.
The event which was like a carnival saw traditional dance, masquerades display and several other gyrations which brought down the spirit of the yuletide festivity in a glamorous manner.
The road measures 19.7km,cost 30.4 billion naira and 9.1billion naira has been paid to the contracting firm Julius Berger to be delivered within 15 months.
Commenting on the project,Governor Fubara explained that it was about six months ago, when the Emuoha-Tema junction road was being inaugurated ,that Kalabari people requested his kind consideration to reconstruct the axis of the Buguma-Abalama-Tema-Degema-Abonnema Road.
Governor Fubara said “As a government that listens,as a government that has compassion for its people because government is about the people, we decided to look into your plight. And by God’s grace, today, it is not in our style to do flag-offs,but because of your request that you want to showcase this occasion, I granted to flag it off.if not,I won’t have been here.
“This project is a 19.7 km road. It is awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Limited at the cost of 30.4 billion naira. We have paid 30 percent of this project cost,even at the hit of our trouble when our allocation were withheld. We paid 9.1 billion for you to understand how we feel and how we value the Kalabari people. The contractor has assured us,they will do a good job,the job will be completed in 15 months and life will be different here.
“Issues of criminality along the bad section of the road will be a thing of the past, and maybe other developments will also come into your kingdom “.
The governor assured that his administration will ensure the people get fair share of the commitment that will be made to improving health care, provision of quality education, other opportunities that will avail them chain of economic empowerment and promised to consider the request made by the Amayanabo of Abonnema Town, King Disrael Gobo Bobmanuel, to reconstruct the Ifoko-Tema bridge because of its importance to the connectivity of the two neighbouring communities.
Performing the flag-off of the Buguma-Abalama-Tema-Degema-Abonnema Road project, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Odein Ajumogobia,SAN, noted that Kalabari people and their land had been impoverished for decades because of the deliberate neglect of government to execute those projects that will enable real-time development, and describe the project as a wonderful initiative that further demonstrates that Governor Fubara listens because nobody would have expected that six months after ,he would be back to do this flag-off.
This gesture tells about governor Fubara’s character ,tenacity of purpose, and commitment to develop the state.
Ajumogobia recall “Abonnema was a very active sea port. My father use to tell me as a boy how he use to see huge huge ships coming to Abonnema ports. So, transportation and connectivity was on the heart of development but generation of neglect gave brou6us to this point. And it is you Your Excellency,that is restricting the process of Development to bring us where we should be”.
