The Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has said the high cost of construction materials will not hinder the completion of ongoing developmental projects in the state.
The governor said ongoing projects were a priority of the government, assuring that cost variations would not affect them.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Daniel Alabrah, quoted him as stating that during an unscheduled inspection visit to the Nembe-Brass and the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie road projects.
Diri said: “The question of whether or not my administration will continue with this project due to the high cost of materials does not arise because, when it comes to development in the state, nothing will stop us.
“Development cannot be arrested as a result of the high cost of materials. The contractors will come up with the cost variation and the Ministry of Works will look at it, evaluate it, and agree on the amount due to the variation. So, we will surely and steadily continue the construction of this road to Brass.
“I am very satisfied with the pace of work. This shows that we have never played politics with the development of this state, as all parts of the state are our constituencies.”
While appreciating the Federal Government for its commitment to partner with the state on the project, Diri explained that he had met President Bola Tinubu twice and that the president had directed the Federal Ministry of Works to collaborate with the state government on the construction of the second phase of the road.
“After my last meeting with the President, the Minister of Works called me and sent a team to the state. So, the collaboration has already started,” he stated.
The state’s helmsman expressed satisfaction with the pace of work on the 21km first phase of the project, which has 10 bridges, saying that in this second tenure, he looked forward to vehicles driving to Brass Town.
While noting that the rehabilitation work on the failed portions of the Ogbia-Nembe road had stopped, he called on the Niger Delta Development Commission, which embarked on the remedial work before last year’s governorship election, to ensure it was completed.
In his remarks, the Setraco Project Manager in charge of Bayelsa and Delta states, Mr Joseph Cosme, explained that the company had achieved 65 per cent sand-filling of the road while almost 2.5km of the sand-cement and stone-base had been completed.
While inspecting the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie road project, the governor dispelled insinuations that his administration continued the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District Road due to political considerations.
Diri described the road construction in the Angiama community as crucial to the development of the state, saying it was unthinkable for the headquarters of the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area not to be accessible by road.