President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) to undertake immediate intervention on the damaged Aleto Bridge at KM 6+500 on the East-West road Section III(A) by Eleme, Onne Junction to alleviate the plight of motorists.

The Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio,
Stated this during an emergency meeting with contractors handling the various sections of the East-West road on Thursday in Abuja.

According to a statement made available to journalists by the Director Press and Public Relations, MNDA, Deworitshe Patricia, Akpabio assured the people of the Niger Delta region that remedial solution would be provided within the next 48 hours to assist the people to move freely and other concerns raised will be addressed to fast track the completion of the road as scheduled.

He said, “the construction of the road which started in 2006 was abandoned for about six years due to human and natural challenges, but since my resumption in office in 2019 the present administration mobilized resources to ensure that the East-West road is completed and commissioned by 2022”.

The Minister noted that various sections of the road which have been in limbo over the years have attained various levels of completion and would be due for commissioning by Mr. President soon, affirming, that issue of compensation would be addressed in no time.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, MNDA, Dr. Babayo Ardo reaffirmed that the Ministry has been working on the East-West road for the past 2 years and all efforts have been geared towards the completion and commissioning of the road before the end of the first quarter of 2022 as directed by the President.

The Managing Director, RCC Nigeria Limited, Engineer Nader Yusuf in his remarks, stated that there are insinuations that sand mining around the river bank affected the foundation of the Aleto Bridge.

He explained that the Engineers are expected to ascertain the real cause of the damage and carry out concrete repairs to aid free flow of traffic on the affected portions of the road.

He however assured the Minister that Engineers would move to site immediately to make the road motorable for road users.