Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has appealed to the federal government to refund the over N22b the state has spent on the rehabilitation of federal roads.
Ugwuanyi said this would enable his administration undertake other crucial development projects.
The governor, who spoke when the House of Representatives’ Committee on Works paid him a courtesy call at Government House, Enugu, lamented the deplorable condition of federal roads in the South-East, including the popular Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt road, Enugu-Abakaliki road among others, noting that their rehabilitation was expedient.
“The negative impact of these bad roads can never be overemphasized as movement is impeded, socio economic lives is hampered, comfort of the people is adversely affected,” he noted.
Ugwuanyi had earlier also played host to the House of Representatives Committee on Environment and Habitant, led by its Chairman, Hon. Obinna Chidoka.
He urged the federal government to take urgent action to curb the adverse effects of gully erosion in the state.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Works, Hon. Toby Okechukwu, praised Governor Ugwuanyi for the proactive steps he had so far taken in rehabilitating some of the federal roads in the state.
He added that it was important that delays in reimbursing states were eliminated as the public hardly ever made any distinction between federal and state roads.
The committees had explained that their visit to Enugu State was part of their oversight functions aimed at assessing the state of federal roads and erosion sites in the state, with the aim of making necessary recommendations with regard to the 2017 appropriation bill.
The lawmakers assured Governor Ugwuanyi that the committees would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the twin issues of deplorable federal roads and gully erosion in the state were tackled in a wholesome manner.
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