Ikpe Waterside Protest: Edo Govt Promises Road Rehabilitation

BENIN CITY — Protesters from Ikpe Waterside and neighbouring communities along the Benin-Abraka Road axis of Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State on Wednesday voluntarily dismantled road barricades and other protest materials following an intervention by the state Deputy Governor, Hon. Dennis Idahosa.

Idahosa, who addressed aggrieved Okaigheles, community and youth leaders at some failed portions of the road, assured the protesters of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s determination to address what he described as liabilities inherited from the previous administration.

The Deputy Governor, who spoke on behalf of the governor, said the administration remained committed to the development and transformation of the state.

He expressed concern over the condition of the road, explaining that two sections had been awarded to different contractors before the present administration assumed office.

According to him, while one of the contractors had completed about 76 per cent of its assigned section, the contractor handling the failed Ikpe Waterside stretch had defaulted.

Idahosa disclosed that Governor Okpebholo had already directed the revocation of the affected contract and its re-award to another competent contractor.

> “Governor Monday Okpebholo has approved that this road contract be revoked and re-awarded to a competent contractor,” he said.

The Deputy Governor also listened to complaints by community representatives concerning the alleged forceful takeover of ancestral farmlands and the subsequent allocation of some of the lands to agricultural investors under the previous administration.

He assured the community stakeholders that the present administration was committed to addressing such concerns across the 18 local government areas and the three senatorial districts of the state.

On the condition of the road, Idahosa attributed the deterioration of some roads in the state to what he described as the use of substandard materials under the previous administration.

He said several roads had subsequently been affected by flooding, adding that the quality of roads being constructed under the present administration would demonstrate a difference.

The Deputy Governor, however, appealed to the communities for patience while the procurement process for the re-award of the affected road contract was being concluded.

He disclosed that palliative measures would be undertaken to ease the hardship faced by motorists, particularly at dangerous sections of the road.

According to him, the local government would be required to undertake immediate palliative work at critical portions while the process of awarding the substantive rehabilitation contract was concluded.

Idahosa also assured the communities that he would personally monitor the rehabilitation of the road to ensure that the project was properly executed.

Earlier, spokesperson of the protesting communities, David Ehiarinmwian, expressed concern over what he described as inadequate corporate social responsibility by oil and agricultural companies operating in the area.

Ehiarinmwian said the companies should do more to improve the livelihoods of their host communities through meaningful corporate social responsibility initiatives.

He also called for a review of the government’s buffer-zone policy relating to the allocation of land to agricultural investors.

According to him, the policy had constrained local farmers, many of whom depend on shifting cultivation for their livelihoods.

The intervention subsequently led to the voluntary removal of the road barricades and other materials used by the protesters.