The government of RIVERS State has declared its intolerance for significant damages inflicted upon major roads constructed with substantial funds, resulting from irresponsible parking by trucks belonging to the BUA Group and other entities operating within the state.
The State’s Commissioner for Works, Dr. George-Kelly Alabo, and the Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Jacobson Nbina, expressed the government’s frustration on Friday as they conducted inspections on road sections that have been affected by certain trucks.
The areas surveyed included Azikiwe Road, where the BUA Sugar Refinery is situated in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area (LGA), as well as roads in Igwuruta and Igwurutali communities in Ikwerre LGA, where BUA has an operational base. Diesel Yard was also visited, where segments of road shoulders and lanes have been severely damaged.
Works Commissioner, Alabo said, “It is public knowledge that Rivers government spends billions of naira every year, labour hard to provide critical infrastructure for our people. BUA Group has been so reckless, the drivers so irresponsible that they have converted our major roads to parks.”
He highlighted that the Igwuruta road serves as a crucial route leading to the Port Harcourt International Airport and neighboring states. He expressed concern that any further deterioration could lead to the collapse of the road and exacerbate the difficulties faced by the local population.
Dr. Nbina, the Commissioner for Transport, mentioned that back in February, the BUA Group was summoned to a meeting involving the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) as well as the Ministries of Transport and Urban Development. During this meeting, BUA committed to discontinuing the use of public roads for parking purposes.
He expressed astonishment that this commitment was not honored, and instead, the company’s trucks continued to deliberately damage the roads. He further stated that such actions would no longer be tolerated by the government.
