IYC, MOSIEND Raise Concerns Over Refuse Blocked Road In Bayelsa ..Threaten Mass Protest

Members of the Ijaw Youth Council (lYC) and the Movement for the Survival of the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) have expressed concerns over the blocking by refuse dump of the road that links some communities in Gbarain Clan, Yenagoa local government area of Bayelsa state to the state capital.

NAIJA LIVE TV learnt that the said road which was constructed by Shell Petroleum and Development Company (SPDC) had been serving as access road linking comnunities such as Nedugo, Agbia and Ogboloma, Okolobiri and others to Yenagoa through the Etegwe-Amassoma Expressway.

According to checks by NAIJA LIVE TV, Shell constructed the road some decades ago to link its Etelebu Gas Plant located behind Ogboloma community and had since then been serving as an important access road to the adjoining communities.

However, a visit to the road by our correspondent showed that the road has been totally blocked by heaps of refuse deposited on it by refuse avaccuators engaged by the state government.

It was gathered that wife of the immediate past governor of the state, Dr. Rachael Dickson is the owner of the refuse evacuating contract.

Our investigation further revealed that, worried by the blockage of the access road, the chairman of the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority, Mr. Tolu Amatu had made efforts to stop the dumping of refuse at the site to no avail.

NAIJA LIVE TV further gathered that Hon. Amatu’s job was allegedly threatened by the powers that be for daring to challenge or obstruct the mouthwatering contract.

One major significance of the road, according to the locals, is that it saves people who are coming from Yenagoa the stress of turning round to the LNG-Obunagha road before accessing the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri especially when there is an emergency case.

Speaking to NAIJA LIVE TV on the situation, the IYC representative in Gbarain Clan, Comrade Samuel Asuka expressed dissatisfaction, stressing that the state government was watching while such an important road constructed by Shell was being destroyed in a time the state is in need of road infrastructure.

Asuka said “this is mere wickedness to the people of Gbarain and Bayelsans in general. There is a place designated for refuse dump but at the end of the day, they have now blocked the road constructed for our people by Shell.

“As we speak, our parents’ farm work and economic activities have been jeopardized by the blockage of this quick and easy access road for the transportation of their farm products, thereby subjecting them to hardship,” the IYC leader fumed.

He recounted that the road had been in that deplorable condition for more than seven years, calling on the Senator Douye Diri led state government to urgently intervene to prove the prosperity mantra of the present administration.

Also expressing anger over the situation, the Secretary of MOSIEND in Gbarain Clan, Comrade Obed Gigi narrated that “this road was constructed by SPDC and it gives us easy access from our clan to Yenagoa. But now the road has been covered and messed up by these refuse dumpers.

“When it is time for our people to harvest their crops, this road used to give them easy access to transport their crops to the city but now that the road is blocked, they have to spend more money, time and energy, turning round to get to their destinations.

“Also, the offensive odour oozing out of the stench from the dump site is posing serious health threat to our people. We are calling on the state government to come and clear this road and designate a particular place for refuse dump.

“We have made several attempts to ensure that this road is put to use but they said the whole thing boils down to Government House where our legs cannot reach. That is why we are using this medium to call on the government to come to our aid.

“If this continues, MOSIEND will have no other option than to stage a peaceful demonstration to tell the government why they should come because MOSIEND stands for the development of Bayelsa state and the Niger Delta as a whole,” he added.

An opinion leader and native of Ogboloma community, Elder Madu Gigi also lend his voice to condemn the sad condition of the road, adding that since the blockade of the said road, Shell had withdrawn its maintenance culture on the road since the oil and gas giant no longer uses the road which was constructed in the early 90s.

A farmer, who was simply identified as Matthew and specializes in cucumber production, while speaking to our correspondent recounted that a bag of cucumber which sells for N2,000 if transported through the access road would rise to N3,000 as a result of extra cost of transportation having turned round due to the inacceptability of the bypass.

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