By Eshioromeh Sebastian
The Edo State Government has revoked the contract for the failed section of the Benin-Abraka Road at Ikpe Waterside in Orhionmwon Local Government Area, with Governor Monday Okpebholo ordering a fresh award to a competent contractor.
Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa disclosed the government’s decision on Wednesday while addressing Okaigheles, youth leaders and residents of Ikpe Waterside and neighbouring communities, who had staged a protest over the deplorable state of the road.
The protesters, who had barricaded the highway to press home their demands, voluntarily cleared the roadblocks after the deputy governor assured them that the government would intervene.
Idahosa explained that the road was split into two sections and awarded to two contractors before the current administration took office on November 12, 2024, noting that while one contractor had achieved about 76 per cent completion on its stretch, the contractor handling the Ikpe Waterside section failed to deliver to the required standard.
“Governor Monday Okpebholo has approved that this road contract be revoked and re-awarded to a competent contractor,” Idahosa said.
The deputy governor, who expressed disappointment at the condition of the road, said the administration was committed to tackling inherited infrastructure deficiencies across the state’s 18 local government areas and three senatorial districts.
He further assured the communities that palliative works would begin on the worst sections of the road while the procurement process for the fresh award was being concluded, adding that the local government would be directed to carry out emergency repairs to ease the hardship faced by motorists.
Idahosa also promised to personally monitor the rehabilitation process to ensure the road met the required standard.
“We need your understanding on most of these issues that were inherited from the previous government. It was not caused by us,” he said, stressing that the Okpebholo administration would not compromise on the quality of roads constructed across the state.
The deputy governor also received complaints from the communities over the alleged forceful takeover of ancestral farmlands and their allocation to agricultural investors by the previous administration, assuring stakeholders that the government would look into the matter and take appropriate action.
Speaking on behalf of the protesting communities, their spokesperson, David Ehiarinmwian, said their grievances went beyond the poor state of the road, calling on oil and agricultural companies operating in the area to show greater commitment to the socio-economic development of their host communities through effective corporate social responsibility programmes.
Ehiarinmwian also appealed to the state government to review the buffer-zone policy guiding the allocation of land to agricultural investors, arguing that the policy had hindered local farmers’ access to their ancestral farmlands and traditional farming practices.
Idahosa assured the stakeholders that their concerns would receive the government’s attention as part of its commitment to inclusive development across Edo State.
Discussion about this post