NIGERIA: No Going Back on Total Infrastructural Transformation, Says Opara-Ndudu

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Commissioner for Works and Transport in the just dissolved cabinet in Imo State, Hon. Nick Opara-Ndudu, has stated that there is no going back on the infrastructural transformation embarked upon by Rochas Okorocha’s administration .

Opara-Ndudu, who spoke in Lagos last Tuesday, disclosed that the infrastructure, which are evenly spread across the 27 Local Government Areas and 305 political wards in the state, are aimed at changing the face of infrastructure in the state . He said, given the situation of what was met on ground when the Okorocha administration took over in the state, a lot has been achieved in the area of infrastructural development just within a period of 12 months.

“When this government came into office , we met a state that was significantly, as far as infrastructure is concerned, in a state of disrepair.

A lot of the roads were left unattended to. For those of you who are conversant with the capital city, Owerri, you will find out that most of the city roads were in different stages of dilapidation.

“Also, since the state was created in 1976, several parts of the state have really not had the opportunity to have modern infrastructure, particularly roads. And as a result, we found ourselves in a situation where some parts of Owerri metropolitan areas were gradually turning into slums.

“This was even against the backdrop of the fact that Owerri has a masterplan that provided for all these areas and all these routes. Yet, nothing was done by successive governments over the past decades.

“So, what the government did so far was essentially a process that will lead to the provision of at least basic motorable roads and other infrastructure in all these areas; that is for the Owerri capital area. These are facts that are there for everybody to verify. As a matter of fact, Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s administration has awarded, and is on records, a total of about 180 road contracts for various streets in Owerri.

“If you also look at other areas like schools, the government is building 305 model secondary schools, out of which as we speak, we have built 120 of them. The plan is that before the middle of next year, the final 305 schools would have been constructed. So, we are providing one of these schools in each of the 305 wards in Imo State.

“In the area of health infrastructure, the government is also building 27 brand new hospitals – one in each of the 27 local governments of the state. Now if you go to Orlu, it has witnessed massive infrastructural transformation. Most of the streets in Orlu are today dual carriage ways. And even as we speak, the government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha is dualising the road from Orlu town to Akokwa moving toward Anambra State,” he stated.

“If you go to Okigwe, the same level of infrastructural transformation is going on. There is a popular saying in the state in the past that says ‘every town and village have opened up except Orlu and Okigwe.’ But that jinx has been broken by this government. Because Orlu and Okigwe have witnessed massive infrastructural transformation, and that is in addition to the fact that the government is involved in the construction of hotels in both Orlu and Okigwe just to give an impetus or energise the development process,” he explained.