East – West Road Cannot Be Completed In 2019 Due To 30bn Debt – Usani Usani

By Ushang Ewa

The federal government has expressed doubt over its ability to deliver on the East – West road before the next general elections in 2019.

This is due to the over NGN30 billion debt incurred on the project already said the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Usani Usani in Calabar, the Cross River State capital recently.

“The East-West Road cannot be completed by 2019. Even if they give us N50bn now, we already have outstanding certificates in excess of N30bn.

“The road was awarded in 2006 and between then and last year, it was 10 years. Even with the lean revenue resources and the collapse of infrastructure in this country between then and now, this government is still doing something on the road,” Usani told journalists.

The road which begins from Lagos and terminates in Calabar goes through 3 states in the southeast and almost all states in the southwest and south-south is divided into five sections.

And, Mr. Usani said that even if the Federal Government releases NGN50 billion for the project, it will not be completed due to outstanding certificates in excess of NGN30 billion.

Also, he said the Ministry is yet to receive a dime from the 2017 budgetary allocation.

But, efforts are being made to secure non budgetary funding for the project as the ministry was attending to road projects based on the availability of funds.

He added that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had the responsibility to reposition national infrastructure and not just the East-West Road reports the PUNCH.

“With all the efforts we have put in so far in two years, we would have completed the section one of the road.

“The road is divided into five sections and I want to inspect the section one of it before we hand it over. The section one is from Warri to Kaiama,” he said.