When in 2007, the Delta State Government awarded some 252 inter/intra city and rural roads and 58 drainage contract projects at a total cost of over N114 billion and N1.7 billion respectively, with some of the road projects situated in the riverine communities of the state, indigenes occupying those territories had thought that the neglect of coastal communities by the government, in terms of infrastructures, has come to an end.
Some of the awarded road projects sited in the Gbaramatu Kingdom axis in Warri South West Local Government Area of the state, were the Ubafan / Inikorogha / Azama / New Jerusalem Zion / Oporoza / Opedebuobor / Okpele-Ama / Ikpokpo / Madangho Road and the Okerenkoko / Pepe-Ama / Kokodiagbene Road.
In a Ministerial Press Briefing which held on Tuesday 21 February 2012, the then Delta State Commissioner in the Ministry of Works, Chief Funkekeme Solomon, while interacting with the media to inform and educate them on the state of activities, responsibilities and functions of the Ministry of Works, hinted on the above rural road project that, “Work on these projects which run through difficult swampy mangrove terrain, and in which substantial earth fill was achieved before the projects suffered setbacks caused by the crises of Okerenkoko in 2010, will resume soon after re-appraisal of the project.”
But after close to a decade, the rural access road project have failed to see the light of day, prompting some of the indigenes in the Kingdom to voice their concerns and fears over the continuation of the project and with appeals made to His Excellency, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who is dubbed as the 'road master', to ensure that the road project come to fruition before the end of his second term in office.
Mr. Isaac Brubor, the Public Relations Officer (P.R.O.) of Kokodiagbene community in Gbaramatu Kingdom, a major community which is a beneficiary of the road project—the Okerenkoko / Pepe-Ama / Kokodiagbene Road—while speaking on the development, said the rural access roads linking the various communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, if completed, would to a large extent reduce transport challenges and hardship on indigenes including students of the Nigeria Maritime University (NMU), whose permanent site is at Okerenkoko.
“The Okerenkoko / Pepe-Ama / Kokodiagbene Road project was awarded to one Workson Construction Company Nigeria Limited in March 2nd 2007 by the Ibori government," Mr. Brubor affirmed. "Although, the crises in the area led to the stoppage of works, since then till now, no word has been heard about the project.
“While the excuse for not continuing the project was the state of insecurity then, however, currently, for over the years that peace had returned to this area, no mobilisation to site by the contractor handling the project has been witnessed," he observed.
On the plight of indigenes over inaccessible roads, he said, "From where we are, Kokodiagbene community, our other sister-communities like Pepe-Ama and Okerenkoko are just around the corner. But because of no accessible roads, we usually embark on an Israelite journey by water which is costly and time consuming. Also, it hinders free movement as well as hinders trade among our people.
"The need for accessible roads cannot be overemphasized. With the rate of poverty in the creeks arising from the after effects of pollution that has rendered our sources of livelihood meaningless, the availability of road networks linking our communities would go a long way to help ease the suffering of our people. It would save us cost and time," he added.
He therefore appealed to the governor of the state to use his powers to do everything possible to ensure the project is kick started by mobilising contractors back to the site of the project.
“I want to appeal to the state governor, His Excellency, the road master himself, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, to not let this project go uncompleted. We are aware that his administration is one of the first governments the riverine people have benefitted from and we are grateful. But we need more development after the so many decades of neglect of the riverine communities by other past governments.”
Despite some coastal communities in southern Nigeria playing host to oil and gas exploration activities in the Niger Delta region, they remain one of the most underdeveloped areas in the West Africa sub-region. This neglect is largely evidenced in poor educational infrastructures and health facilities to the lack of other basic amenities like drinkable water, power supply, and of course, inaccessible roads and bridges, that have made life in coastal communities, difficult.
This neglect had led to tensions in the region, which later paved way to conflicts between armed militant groups and government forces. But since the granting of amnesty to militants by the Federal Government (FG), not much have been achieved in terms of infrastructural development as the agency of the FG responsible for the region’s development, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has been fraught with issues of corruption.
For the coastal people of Gbaramatu Kingdom and environs, the NDDC is too far away and so they have continued to cry out to the state government over their marginalisation, infrastructure-wise. It is only hoped that Governor Okowa's administration would make a huge difference by resurrecting the rural road projects as a way to reduce the plights faced by coastal dwellers in the riverine areas of the state.
