The Avu/Ohaji and Egbema Youth Forum in Imo State has issued a 7-day ultimatum to Roudo Construction Company Ltd., an NDDC contractor, within which to return to the abandoned Avu/Umunwaku/Adapalm/Etekwuru road and resume work.
Briefing journalists in Owerri on Wednesday, the President of Ohaji Youths, Comrade Nwosu Nicholas Tochukwu, informed the company that failure to deliver the job for which they have been financially mobilised would invoke the grandfather of all protest in the state, adding that nobody should blame the youths from the two Local Government Areas of Ohaji/Egbema and Owerri West if the matter is swept under the carpet, reports Nigerian Tribune.
Nwosu, who was flanked by the youth leaders from Avu, Ohaji, and Egbema, called on Governor Hope Uzodimma to sack Roudo Construction Company Ltd. if she was not capable of handling the job.
The youth body insisted that they cannot continue to allow the road to be used as a political settlement at the detriment of the people of Ohaji/Egbema and Owerri West LGAs.
The youth urged the Governor of Imo State to direct the Managing Director of Roudo Construction Company to immediately mobilise to the site with a view to completing the road before the rains set in.
They expressed optimism that if the matter is brought to the knowledge of the governor, who has a listening ear, there will be a solution.
He said: “This road leads to Adapalm Nigeria Ltd., which is the largest palm plantation in south-eastern Nigeria.
“This road also links Owerri West and Ohaji/Egbema LGA. we think this road deserves a befitting outlook, in all fairness.”
The youth body urged the Roudo Construction Company to, as a matter of urgency, resume work impactfully on the road between now and the next seven days.
He said, “While this press briefing is a notification to the world, it is equally a forewarning that we are not asleep.
“We are aware of the huge amount of money sunk into the project by the state government and NDDC, yet there is nothing to show for it.”.
They recalled that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) announced that it had mobilised the contractor handling the Avu/Obosima/Umunwaku/Adapalm/Etejwuru road, Ruodo Nigeria Ltd., to the turn of two billion naira to repair the 10-kilometre project.
The youth regretted that despite strong promises made by the Chairman/CEO of the Company to several delegations that visited him, nothing has been done since 4 months of signing the contract
They appealed to both the federal government, state, and NDDC to intervene in order to rescue the people of Avu in Owerri West LGA and Ohaji/Egbema so that the Roudo Construction Company could do the needful immediately.
Adding his voice, the Secretary of United Egbema Youth, Omali Sunday Ugochukwu, recalled the importance of the road to the people of Ohahji/Egbema, which has 167 oil wells, including one of the largest gas plants in West Africa.
He said that Imo State today is NDDC because of the large deposit of oil and gas in Ohaji/Egbema and regretted that the construction company has taken the people of Ohaji/Egbema and Owerri West for granted.
