Youths from Orhionmwon Local Council of Edo State under the umbrella body of Ugu Youth Association, have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to probe the controversial completion and commissioning of the Abraka-Oben reconstructed road project, by the Minister of Regional Development Commission, Abubakar Momoh.
They claimed that the Abraka-Oben Road commissioned by the minister started and ended in the Delta State axis of the Benin-Abraka Road. The youths, led by the Coordinator of Ugu Youth Association, Monday Osemwenkhae, said “the community is still searching for the reconstructed Abraka- Oben Road” reconstructed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in their community.
They insisted that there is no road in the Niger Delta called Abraka-Oben Road, but Benin-Abraka Road. Osemwenkhae appealed to the president to visit the Abraka-Oben reconstructed road project for an on-the-spot assessment of work done on the federal highway.
The youths who lamented the injustice done to their community following the mention of Oben Road during the said commissioning of the project reconstructed by the Federal Government, claimed that in reality, such a road by the name Abraka-Oben did not exist in the Niger Delta.
Osemwenkhae noted that the federal road project that was commissioned by the Minister is in Delta State and not in any way connected or extended to Oben community in Edo State.
“We call on President Bola Tinubu and the Minister to revisit the host community of Oben to show to the world the federal road that was commissioned in the Edo State axis on the Benin-Abraka Road.
“Oben Community is host community to several oil and gas companies. We want President Tinubu to come and see what is going on in Oben community. We constructed the two link roads to Oben with community self-help and support from Spelat , a major oil giant operating in the community.
“President Tinubu should please pay a visit to Edo or Delta State and stop at Oben to see the project that was awarded in the community for him to have a first hand knowledge of what is happening in the oil rich Oben community. “he said.
Earlier, an elder in the Oben community, Chief Friday Omoragbon lamented that the Minister commisioned the road in Delta State and captioned the said road as Abraka-Oben Road project, which he noted was wrong.
“No road like Abraka -Oben road in Orhionmwon Local Government Council Area. What we know here is called Benin-Abraka road. Our representative on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was not present at the commissioning, only those from Delta State attended the road project commissioning by the minister .
“We are not aware of any reconstructed Abraka-Oben road in our community. It is all lies that NDDC reconstructed the road called Abraka-Oben. We the people of Oben community are not even aware if the NDDC reconstructed the Abraka road let alone Oben section of the road.” Omoragbon said.
Responding , Commissioner representing Edo State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Patrick Asowerien who defended the minister over the road commissioning , said the road project is yet to be completed, noting that only phase one of the Abraka-Oben road was completed and commissioned by the Minister.
He noted that only 9.8km of the road was commissioned by the Minister of Regional Development Commission, Abubakar Momoh.
He faulted the narrative by the people of Orhionmwon that the federal government has completed and commissioned the Abraka-Oben federal road saying, “nobody claimed that the federal government has done or completed the Oben road axis of the project.”
Asowerien added that the Oben-Umugun road axis linking the Benin-Abraka highway in Orhionmwon Council Area of Edo State is 12.18km, which is yet to commence.
