By Sunday Bassey
Eket(Akwa Ibom) – The Akwa Ibom governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, has appealed to the Federal Government to refund the money the state government spent on the construction of federal roads in the state.
Emmanuel made the appeal on Wednesday in Eket Local Government Area of the state during the inauguration of the newly constructed 19.5km dual carriage Eket-Ibeno Road leading to ExxonMobil terminal.
The governor said that the Eket-Ibeno Road should have been constructed by the Federal Government and its agencies and not the state government.
“Today, it is the state government which has initiated and completed the Eket-Ibeno road construction.
“They should go back and check the money they appropriated for the road and refund the state government.
“Let the Federal Government refund the expenditure incurred by the state government on federal roads,” Emmanuel said.
According to the governor, the refund is necessary because the Eket-Ibeno road project leads to where the Federal Government gets its most of its resources.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government has been making claim of being owed over N140 billion on federal road construction from the previous administrations till date.
Emmanuel said that his administration was poised to build road infrastructure across the entire 31 local government areas of the state.
He listed projects inaugurated as part of his second anniversary in office to include the 5.1km Ikot Usop-Ikot Edeghe-Ikot Ekpikot road with a 30m span bridge.
Other projects are the reconstructed Children’s Ward at Immanuel Hospital, Eket, as well as the flag-off of 55.1km super highway in Eket Local Government Area, among others.
Also speaking, the chairman, Akwa Ibom Traditional Rulers Council, Chief Effiong Achianga, thanked the state government for the inauguration of the road projects in the area.
Achianga, who is also the paramount ruler of Ibeno Local Government Area, said the construction of Eket-Ibeno road had removed the suffering of his people on the road over the years.
The monarch urged the people to support the governor in his effort to build road infrastructure and industries in the state.
He called on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to mobilise its contractors back to all the abandoned projects of the commission in the state.
In his remarks, the Transition Chairman of Eket Local Government Area, Mr Frank Archibong, expressed appreciation to the state government for the construction of Eket-Ibeno road.
“This is a clear testimony that Gov. Emmanuel feels the pulse of his people, knows the yearning of the people and what the people want.
“I know how long we have suffered on this road; this road leads to a multinational company, where Federal Government gets over 50 per cent of its resources,” Archibong said.