UMUAHIA – CHAIRMAN of the Senate Committee on Works, Senator Idris Kuta has blamed political office holders in the South East zone for the poor condition of the federal roads in their area, reminding them that they have a duty to serve the people who elected them into office.
Kuta, who is on inspection of roads in the South East and South South said during a visit to the Government House, Umuahia that the committee embarked on the inspection with a view to determining those to be included in the 2005 budget which President Olusegun Obasanjo would soon present to the National Assembly.
According to him, political wrangling among the leaders, coupled with giving jobs to incompetent contractors, have contributed in no small way to the sorry state of things in the zone.
His words: “Under normal circumstances, I don’t even need to be here for road inspection. The senate president is from this state and if he cannot ensure that roads here are included in the budget, then he is not fit to be where he is. Again, Senator Chris Adighije who is a member of this committee is from this state. He is supposed to be with us, but I doubt if he will meet us in this assignment. The national secretary of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Vincent Ogbulafor is also from this state. If all of them cannot do anything about condition of roads in this area, then the people should hold them responsible.
“The federal roads in this zone have been neglected because of political differences among political office holders, particularly those from Abia State. They should allow public interest to override their personal interests. We, the public office holders come and go after every four years, but public interest is a permanent feature. The habit of allowing private interest to override public interest is what is killing this country.
“For instance, most of the federal roads in the zone are handled by incompetent contractors. However, I don’t blame the contractors. I blame those that gave out the jobs to incompetent hands because if I know that somebody is not competent, whether that person is my brother, I will not give him job. This is because the roads that he will build will not only be used by me or my brother but by all the people in the country.
“So, I will not forgive myself if I contribute to the killing of somebody because I failed to do my job. If I get away with it here, I will not get away with it in the hereafter. I therefore expect that political office holders should have this at the back of their minds when awarding contracts”.
Kuta added that although he respects public office holders, he is not the kind of person that worships people and promised to look objectively at the issue of roads in the zone with a view to ameliorating the situation.
Abia State Commissioner for Works, Chief Emeka Stanley who represented Governor Orji Uzor Kalu at the occasion accused the Federal Ministry of Works and Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) of neglecting the zone in road construction and maintenance.
He wondered why the senate committee should be in the state to inspect only the 34km Aba – Azumiri road, adding that there are more important roads in the zone that need the senate attention. He cited the Umuahia – Bende – Ohafia – Arochukwu and Port Harcourt – Enugu roads as roads that have become nightmare to motorists and urged the committee to do something about them.
