The Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Mr. Francis Arhiyor, has attributed increased waves in robbery and kidnapping in the country to bad road network.
He said kidnappers and armed robbers take undue advantage of failed highways across the country to perpetrate their heinous crime.
“The truth is that if the roads are good, the case of armed robbery and kidnapping will be reduced because these hoodlums have been taking undue advantage of the bad spots to strike and perpetrate their heinous crimes”, Arhiyor stated.
The NURTW Chairman appealed to the Federal Government to checkmate the atrocities of the hoodlums by fixing the failed East-West highway in the Niger Delta region without further delay.
He however commended the Governor of Delta State, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, for his intervention as manifested in the flagging off the reconstruction of the dilapidated Warri–Sapele-Benin road.
“If the roads are good and the driver is on motion, nobody can jump into the front of your vehicle to attack”, the NURTW Chairman maintained.
Arhiyor while describing Governor Oborevwori’s intervention as “a welcome development”, noted that “the reconstruction of the Warri-Sapele-Benin road will be a big relief for motorists and commuters along the axis”.
He added, “It is a welcome development because our members are the major beneficiaries of this project.For the time past, our drivers have been having harrowing experiences passing through the failed road. Most of our vehicles have broken down irretrievably because of the bad road just as we spend a lot of money on vehicle maintenance on daily basis.
“While appreciating the Delta Government for the kind gesture, we are strongly appealing to the Federal Government of Nigeria to, as a matter of topmost priority, come to our aid to fix the failed portions of the East-West highway, especially the Benin By-Pass enroute Lagos, the Benin to Akwa Ibom section which is terribly bad as well as the Warri-PortHarcourt section”.
“We strongly appeal to the Federal Government to come to our aid to ensure the reconstruction of the roads without further delay’’.
It will be recalled that Governor Oborevwori, while flagging off the reconstruction of the Warri–Sapele–Benin Road had noted that the initiative underscored the gains of synergy between the two tiers of government.
He emphasized that “development becomes faster when governments work together in the interest of the people”.
“Although this road is a federal route, the users are Deltans and Nigerians, and their safety and comfort are what matter most to us,” the Governor stated.
He described the axis as “a critical national infrastructure connecting major cities across the South-South and providing access to Edo and other parts of the federation”.
