The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide (IYC), has again called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, to quickly mobilise contractors to complete the East-West Road, particularly the Bayelsa axis.
The appeal is contained in a statement yesterday by the Chairman, Central Zone of the IYC, Comrade Clever Inodu.
The IYC described the East/West Road as a death trap and wondered why the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and other critical stakeholders had been playing politics with the road.
It warned that Ijaw youths would not continue to watch the deplorable condition of the road, a major expressway that links the Southsouth to other parts of the country.
The IYC said that lack of political will and gross underfunding had hindered the completion of the critical road which started 14 years ago.
The council said: “Despite the economic importance of the road, which crisscrosses five out of the six states in the South-South, for the past 14 years, barely 50 per cent of the road has been completed, due mainly to lack of political will and funding constraints by the successive and present administrations.
“The bad road has caused untold hardship, frustration, accidents and uncountable deaths.
“It is quite saddening to see the East-West road in such a deplorable condition. For over a decade, the road has been a nightmare to commuters and other road users who transit between the West and East of the country. Thus, it is imperative for the needful to be done.