October 29, (NaijaOnPoint Media) – The central zone of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has expressed its discontentment with the non-inclusion any road in Bayelsa state among the 21 roads recently approved for construction and rehabilitation by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the six geopolitical zones in the country.
Recall that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had given the approval during a recent meeting.
Speaking with newsmen in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, the chairman of the central zone of the IYC, Comrade Clever Inodu, faulted the NNPC for channeling all available resources for developing road infrastructure to petroleum energy distribution alone, without recourse to connecting major petroleum activity destinations to the rest of the country.
He said the total neglect of Bayelsa state in this recent move is an indication that the state is not prioritised even though it is an oil-producing state.
He said, “The most anticipated Nembe-Brass road has been on the Federal Government drawing board since 1973 but has gotten little or no attention despite its Socio-Economic viability.”
He added that the road will provide access to the Brass fertiliser/petrochemical project, the Atlantic modular refinery in Okpoma, the BPPT Brass petroleum product terminal, and other important installations.
Inodu, who doubles as the chairman of the IYC Zonal and Chapter Chairmen Forum expressed total displeasure with and rejected this trend in its entirety, describing the move as a deliberate marginalisation of Bayelsa state by the NNPC.
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He called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Hon. Minister of Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, all National Assembly members from Bayelsa state and the management of the NNPC to reconsider the corporation’s position on the Nembe-Brass road and other federal roads in the state.
He also encouraged companies in the area to take advantage of the Executive Order No. 007 of 2020 signed into law by President Buhari and carry out road infrastructure development in the state.