Few weeks ago, we reported that Rt. Hon. Daniel Asuquo the member representing Akamkpa/Biase in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly and the senatorial hopeful for Cross River Southern Senatorial District in the 10th Assembly under the Labour Party in 2023 had mobilized contractors to commence work at the collapsed bridge at new Ndebiji to put an end to the political tourism site the place was becoming. We write to authoritatively affirm that the temporal bridge earlier proposed and mobilized for by the lawmaker is 90% completed as at the date of filing this report.
According to the lawmaker, Akamkpa is akin to the hen that lays the golden egg that is not properly being fed despite all that is taken from it. "The resources taken away from this local government are enormous. The combined extraction by the federal and the state government calls for concern yet very little is seen in the local government. As lawmakers, we made very serious efforts to have this road captured in the national budget but after all said and done, only 5km was paid for by the Federal Government to Setraco on a road that is almost 150km, whereas all the border roads in the country are given the best attention.
The fight to actualize the vision of this federal highway is far from over and like I said it will be wrong for anyone to play politics with it with my people. As soon as I left the site, I went back to the National Assembly and raised the motion of urgent public interest calling for urgent intervention to the bridge and road, and knowing how our government responds to situations does not mean I am giving up as I have only started the fight.
And so, the palliative bridge from the design that was handed over to me was to allow for light vehicles to pass through with ease which will also ease the suffering of the people as the present predicament is a far cry from reality.
Explaining the design concept and its usage, His Highness Engr. Antigha said that from the feasibility studies carried out at the bridge, certain precautionary measures were also taken into consideration before the proposed design. He agrees with the lawmaker on the usage by light vehicles. According to him, the foundation of the bridge had long been compromised and it will be tantamount to a serious engineering blunder to work on assumption when the facts are very obvious and thus put people in harm's way. We are not also encouraging light vehicles laden with goods to travel through, we must have this understanding of safety first, and so, offloading and transfer for reloading for now should be the best practice, he added.
Chief Asuquo was full of praise for the Chairman of Akamkpa Local Government Area, Hon. Linus Etim, who looked beyond party lines to ensure that economic activities can commence within the area. His contribution and goodwill are immeasurable. He has shown true leadership
The lawmaker also commended the joint communities for the contributions in the provision of locally sourced materials such as timber of varying sizes which made the construction work easier. Our ideas of partnership made the job very easy and this is going to be our true position going forward, everyone matters and everyone must be involved.
0 comments: