The recent linking of two Bayelsa’s oil-rich local government areas 26 years after the creation of the state has brought respite to inhabitants of the communities who can now travel by road, Daily Trust Saturday reports.
Despite their contributions to the nation’s economy as oil-producing LGAs, Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw in Bayelsa State have never been accessed by road, thereby making it difficult for residents to move freely.
The residents said accessing Yenagoa, the state capital, before now was an uphill task as they had to spend several days on rivers moving from one coastal community to another before berthing in the capital and other towns in the state, with the attendant dangers of boat accidents and pirates’ attacks.
Also, local government council staff posted from outside the areas found it difficult getting to work due to the very difficult terrain, especially for those who were not conversant with water movement.
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Since the creation of the state in 1996 by the administration of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, some of the LGAs, including Ekeremor, Southern Ijaw and Brass, were not connected to the state capital and other towns in the state by road until the administration of Gov Douye Diri which has already extended roads to Ekeremor town and Angiama in Southern Ijaw, while work is ongoing to connect Brass through Nembe.
According to the state government, the Yenagoa-Angiama-Oporoma section will gulp N31bn, while Sagbama-Ekeremor road has cost the government N13.4bn.
Though the immediate past government in the state under Senator Seriake Dickson started the first phase of the Yenagoa-Angiama-Oporoma-Ukubie road, as well as the Sagbama-Ekeremor road, with many bridges across swamps, the project did not get to the respective LGAs’ headquarters.
Gov Diri on assumption of office in 2020, awarded contract for the second phases of the two projects, which are the 42KM Sagbama-Ekeremor road and the 32KM Yenagoa-Oporoma-Okubia road, with bridges across the rivers along the routes to open communities in Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor LGAs.
According to residents, building of roads to riverine communities have unearthed economic potentials in the areas and given them a new lease of life as they no more ply the rigorous waterways to get to the capital city and other parts.
When Daily Trust visited Ekeremor and Angiama communities where work is ongoing on a bridge over River Nun to Oporoma, the headquarters of Southern Ijaw LGA, residents expressed appreciation to the state government for considering their plight and awarding the contract for the road which had opened up economic activities in the communities.
A resident of Ekeremor, Mr Charles Okpe, expressed happiness for being privileged to see the road linking the area, saying the era of suffering in the river was over.
Okpe, a 56-year-old teacher, said that Ekeremor LGA, despite its economic potentials and endowed natural resources, hasd never had an access road, noting that the struggle for a road to be extended to the area was dated for over 60 years.
He said, “We have never seen a road in Ekeremor LGA. We used canoes if we wanted to travel to Yenagoa. We would first cross by boat to Bomadi in Delta State before moving to our state capital, Yenagoa. But now we are enjoying the road; we can drive directly to Sagbama and then Yenagoa. Even if the road has not yet been completed, we can get to several communities around us through the road.
“With this road, our crops are easily moved to towns for sales compared to when they were left to be rotting when there was no road.”
Another resident of Ekeremor, Mr Mie Selewari, told Daily Trust that the struggle for the entire LGA to have an access road predated the old Rivers State.
He said, “It is now that we from Ekeremor really feel we are part of Bayelsa State and that we have a government. Before, all you would see here is either boats ferrying oil workers or choppers dropping them. Once they finish their work, nothing concerns them with our plight.
“Farmers and fishermen even gain more through this road as their produce are taken to city centres to be sold and they make huge profits.
Also, if there is an emergency at night, we can easily rush to Yenagoa compared to when somebody would be left to die because of lack of access to town and health facilities.”
At Agiama community in Southern Ijaw LGA, a resident, Victor Ekeji, told Daily Trust that the road reaching their community after more than 50 years of agitation was a landmark development which would be appreciated by generations yet unborn.
He said, “Before now, a child could be born in all these communities you see around here and grow up to become an adult without knowing where Yenagoa is, but now, in less than two hours you will be in Yenagoa.
“We thank God for democracy, because if not for it, who would have listened to our cries.
“Even the crime rate will reduce in these communities because if there is any security situation, we can easily link with security operatives in Yenagoa to come to our rescue.”
The Director, New Media to Gov Diri, Dr Kola Oredipe, who led newsmen on an assessment tour of some projects in the state recently, said the priority of the state government was to open up the riverine communities and ensure that the economic lives of the residents were made more visible.
According to him, the state government has committed huge resources on the 42KM Sagbama-Ekeremor road with the construction of about six bridges across rivers on the stretch to link the communities in the LGA.
He said, “A lot of work has been done between Toro-Orua and up to this point in Ekeremor town. We are on the last bridge linking Ekeremor town. We have asphalted up to Isampou community, and the remaining stretch is just Isampou community and Ekeremor main town from Toro-Orua to Angalabiri. Then we get to Ofoni and Ayamasa and Aleibiri; you will see that about five communities and other communities inside, meaning that this road has provided access to several riverine communities in the state. With the way the contractor is working, the road will be ready by February.
“We have constructed five bridges on the stretch leading to Ekeremor town already, supposedly we are on the sixth one. The road is a 42KM stretch from Toro-Orua up to Ekeremor main town.”
