Rivers residents deplore roads as Wike raises maintenance agency

Residents have deplored the deplorable state of roads in Rivers made worse by flooding, describing driving as hellish in the state.They lament that some of the highways that got facelift had degenerated barely two months after, urging the state government to embark on a comprehensive road maintenance and construction of drainages to reduce pressure on the facilities.

This comes as Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday inaugurated the State Road Maintenance Agency with a charge to make the infrastructure motorable.He said: “Settle down and draw out a comprehensive work plan on how to address the potholes on some of the roads in Port Harcourt and its environs.
“Almost all the major roads in Port Harcourt have been awarded for reconstruction. Therefore, identify the roads that have not been awarded, but have potholes.

“When you identify these roads with potholes, funds will be released for their immediate rehabilitation.”He clarified that the agency had no powers to award contracts, adding that it awarded N1 billion projects in the past without authorisation. Wike said that the organisation was the direct labour arm of the Rivers State Government targeted at ensuring that roads do not degenerate. “Make our roads motorable. That is your basic function. This agency is very important to the Rivers State Government. That is why you must work day and night to achieve results,” he charged.