AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR
Your Excellency,
RE: DUALIZATION OF EAST-WEST ROAD (SECTION IV): ONNA/EKET TO ORON IN AKWA IBOM STATE CONTRACT NO. 5883 – A PETITION AGAINST ELDER GODSDAY ORUBEBE, OLUDARE LAWRENCE ALABA, EPHRAIM TOWELDE ZARI, MESSRS GITTO COSTRUZIONI GENERALI NIGERIA LIMITED AND THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION, MALAM ABUBAKAR MALAMI, SAN
We greet you, Your Excellency in the name of the Almighty God. We sincerely appreciate the landmark achievements recorded by your administration towards sustainable development.
Five-village Youth Movement is a socio-cultural, development-oriented, non-partisan and non-governmental organization with membership drawn from six (6) villages – Ukwa, Afaha Uqua, Afaha Uqua Obokidim, Iko Ekwa, Okopedi and Abighe in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. As a serious development-oriented organization and an ardent supporter of anti-corruption policy of this administration, we resolved that this grossly anti-development practices perpetuated by the above mentioned anti-development individuals be brought to your notice as a fountain of anti-corruption.
Your Excellency, with profound respect and sincerity, the Federal Government of Nigeria awarded a contract of Thirty-seven billion five hundred and nine million five hundred and fifty thousand two hundred and forty-nine Naira thirty-one kobo (N37,509,550.249:31) to Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited for the dualization of East–West Road (Section IV), Eket–Oron in Akwa Ibom State.
The contract involved increasing the existing single carriage way to a dual carriageway of 2 x 7.3m road pavement, 2.75m outer shoulders and 1.0m inner shoulders with 4m and 10m wide median respectively. The works also comprised rehabilitation and improvement of the existing single carriageway by strengthening existing embankment and pavement layers and provision of new asphaltic concrete courses where necessary and the construction of additional lane running parallel to the existing alignment by provision of compacted naturally and excavated laterite material as sub-grade and sub-base, and the provision of crushed rock as base course. The works also involved the construction of 6No bridges including the 398m major Eket Bridge over Qua Iboe River. A number of existing drainage structures shall be rehabilitated while other road safety and comfort facilities shall be provided.
Your Excellency, the abandonment of the project which the Federal Government of Nigeria had spent billions of naira disheartens us. Your Excellency, may we bring to your notice that, eleven (11) years after the contract for the dualization of East-West Road (section IV) Eket–Oron Road in Akwa Ibom State of the project been awarded, is yet to be delivered. Seven (7) years after the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Niger Delta, paid out N2.3 billion to Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited for payment of compensation to people whose properties were marked for demolition in Eket Urban, Akwa Ibom State, the beneficiaries have not received the money. Rather than Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited to pay compensation to owners of properties that were to be demolished to make way for the dualisation of the road, the Italian company till date has refused and or neglected to pay the said compensation.
Your Excellency, the road which was meant to be a dual carriage way had been converted to a single lane highway by the contractors who came up with the deceitful plan in the pretext that there were many houses to be demolished in Eket urban in Akwa Ibom State. They hurriedly decided to make provisions for a single lane and construction of a purportedly deceitful and unrealized bypass. A one time Member of the House of Representatives and former Minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development, Rt. Hon. Ndueso Essien attested to this fact in The Vanguard of 27th February, 2017. Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited with the connivance of the erstwhile Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe orchestrated a stakeholders meeting held in November, 2011 which he clandestinely circumvented the Federal Executive Council’s approval of 28th September, 2006 with reference number: EWR 14522/vol. 1/55 for the dualisation of the Eket- Oron Road of East–West Road. Worse still, Mr. Oludare Alaba, an Assistant Director in the Ministry of Niger Delta, acting on the instruction of the erstwhile Minister of Niger Delta in flagrant disobedience of the Federal Executive Council’s approval wrote to Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited in a letter dated 23rd January, 2015 with reference number: EWR/S4/CN5883/COMP/vol. 9/429 directing the Italian company to rehabilitate the road instead of dualising it and released to the contractor the N2.3 billion approved for compensation of the persons whose properties were earmarked for demolition. On 26th November, 2014, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs through Engr. I.I. Okah wrote to the Coordinator of Conference of Village Heads, Eket and informed the community that the Ministry was pursuing the procurement of Eket Bypass as an addendum and that work would commence on Eket Bypass as soon as the project was procured. The ministry added that her programme of work was to complete the rehabilitation of Eket Township Road and Eket bridges before Christmas of 2014.
On the 24th of November, 2014, we petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). During the investigation of the abandoned project by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Professor Claudius Omoleye Daramola, a Minister of State in the Ministry of Niger Delta on 6th September, 2016 wrote to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on what he titled: “Important Information on the Ongoing Project.” The letter exonerated the contractor of the allegations for which the accused persons were found culpable for all that had happened. He added that the contract between the client and the contractor is still subsisting and effective. He maintained that the contract sum is an estimate which should not be exceeded at the completion of the project thus the balance remains in the contract as total project saving which cannot be paid to the contractor. Sequel to Professor Daramola’s reaction, Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited had confirmed that the N2.3 billion compensation money meant for section IV of the East-West Road had been spent on the instruction of the erstwhile minister of Niger Delta Affairs. When Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited had meeting with us in 2014, the company further admitted that the compensation money cannot be paid to the property owners because it had been ‘reabsorbed’ for the ongoing rehabilitation project. Shortly, after our petition, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) investigated the matter and filed corruption charges against Elder Godsday Orubebe and three (3) others. The four were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on corruption, diversion of funds meant for the dualisation of section IV of the East –West Road before His Lordship, Honorable Justice O. A. Adeniyi sitting at court No. 20 Apo, Abuja.
While the case was pending in the court, the Attorney–General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Malam Abubakar Malami, SAN wrote to the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and confirmed that ONE BILLION NINE HUNDRED AND SIXTY–FIVE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY –SIX THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY–THREE NAIRA FORTY –SIX KOBO (N1,965,576,153:46) out of the N2.3 billion compensation funds had not been expended and further admitted that the fund was not released to Gitto. In December 2016, the Attorney–General of the Federation in the letter dated 16th December, 2016 with reference number: DPP/MNDA/345/16 and signed by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mr. U. E. Mohammed informed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to terminate the case – FCT/HC/CR/265/16. Based on the Attorney–General of the Federation’s directives, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission through its counsel, Mr. Osuobeni Akponimishga applied to withdraw the charge and the proceeding on the case was terminated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. On the 4th of April, 2017, the case was struck out and the defendants acquitted. We were dumbfounded at this point and smelled a rat. Your Excellency, we strongly rely on these letters since they were obtained from court’s records.
Furthermore, Your Excellency, it is on record that the Federal Government in April 2015 approved N14 billion for the construction of a bypass on the road to divert vehicular traffic from the city centre in Eket, but that bypass being an addendum is awaiting the Federal Government funding. Your Excellency, we humbly appeal that you use your good offices to fund the construction of the bypass road that was approved by the Federal Government as an addendum and an integral part of the East-West Road Project.
Your Excellency, till date the double carriage road approved by the Federal Government has not been constructed. Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited had stopped work at Eket since 2014. The Italian company, together with some corrupt-minded individuals, decided that the double carriage way would no longer pass through Eket Township but a facelift would be given to the township road with a view to circumventing the scope and specification of the road. The road is really dilapidated and is in a deplorable condition. In fact, it is a death trap for road users. The association is in dismay as to why Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited abandoned the East–West Road. The fact that the construction of a double carriage road is jettisoned by Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited in connivance with myopic and corrupt-minded individuals for a bypass is an economic and financial coup to divert funds meant for the construction of section IV of the East-West Road and payment of compensation to affected property owners in Eket Township in Akwa Ibom State is unbelievable. It is a fictitious and parallactic argument of anti-development and corrupt –minded individuals that dualisation of Eket urban will jeopardize the safety of the residents as a result of heavy traffic of articulated vehicle expected from Ibaka deep–sea port at Oron, which today, the super highway awaiting construction by the Akwa Ibom State Government for the sea port, have no link in joined with the said bypass.
The question in the lips of our members and genuinely unfeigned people of Eket and true sympathizers is: “why the abandonment of section IV of the East-West Road when other sections of the project have been delivered?” The answer is that there are so many egotistically and selfishly anti-development and dishonest individuals who caused a development blockade to checkmate the progress of Section IV of the East-West Road to the detriment of Eket people. We are not unaware of an earlier subtle and surreptitious move by Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited and the Ministry of Niger Delta officials cum other selfish individuals to ensure that part of Section IV of the East-West Road and the community development programme of the Federal Government is forgotten and abandoned on the road map of development.
WE DEMAND:
(i) That Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited execute the Contract No. 5883 as contained in the original contract as approved by the Federal Executive Council. (i.e the dualization of East-West Road section IV) including the portion which passes through Eket urban.
(ii) Immediate payment of compensation to affected property owners whose houses were marked and owners ordered to move out since 2007.
Respectfully Your Excellency, at the end of the analysis of the mindset of the perpetrators of this anti-development and provocative disparities, the association resolved to petition your esteemed office as a symbol of anti-corruption. We are deeply concerned about this negative development and we are ready to give any further information or assistance as regards it. We have confidence and trust in you, sir that as an honest and a symbol of anti-corruption running a democratic government duty bound to respond positively to the yearning, reasonable desire and the cry of the people that you will use your good offices to order Messrs Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited to execute the contract as awarded. The Five-village Youth Movement and genuinely unfeigned people of Eket will continue to monitor the progress of this job and give you all the necessary information till completion.
Yours faithfully,
For and on behalf of the Five-Village Youth Movement
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Mr. Godwin Monday James-Nku Mr. Akaninyene Tommy Essien
President-General Secretary-General
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Deacon Samuel Etukudo Udoeno Udoeno Akpensien
Member/Activist Member/Activist
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Samuel E. Udoh, Esq. Udia Nkuh
Legal Adviser Member
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Chief Friday Udoyo Mr. Godwin Samuel Akpe
Community Leader Public Relations Officer
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Afaha John Afaha Obong Atang Nsien
Member Member
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Chief Ime Johnson Utoito Chief Monday James Nkuh
Village Head-Elect, Uqua Village Village Head-Elect, Abighe Village
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Mr. Emmanuel A. Ekong
Member
