…How He Was Forced To Fix Ibom Connection By NTA Expose
… Why He Is Frustrating NDDC Repair Jobs
Governor Udom Emmanuel’s right hand man and Commissioner for Works, Mr. Ephraim Inyang, is in the news again, for the wrong reason.
The Works Commissioner, known for his self acclaim fame and dexterity, is alleged to have ordered the closure of Ibom Connection Roundabout in the Uyo metropolis for repairs.
According to Ibom Telegraph finding, Mr. Inyang, however, failed to release money to the contractor, Raycon Limited, to carry out the job, which should not have lasted beyond three days.
A respondent, Michael Akpakpan, who spoke with our reporter, said “I am an engineer by profession. That job, which brought untold hardship to commuters and petty traders within the Plaza axis, lasted for more than four weeks, and it is merely a roundabout. What would have happened if it was to repair a One-Kilometer Road?”
The Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) has, however, helped residents of Uyo to fast-forward the process.
The NTA vox-pop on the repair job after getting information that the Works Commissioner ordered the relocation of road repair equipment for laying asphalt on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) emergency repair site at Ukana Offot Street to the Ibom Connection, played the magic
The said equipment, a paver, which was on lease to the NDDC contractor from the State Roads Maintenance Agency, was neither used nor deployed to the Ibom Connection, an action which has put the Ukana Offot project on hold.
When NTA went to town with their report, Mr. Inyang, who said the instruction for the relocation was given by Governor Udom Emmanuel, then ordered that the equipment be moved to Ibom Connection from where it was kept and the contractor, according to our reporter, was also forced to work with floodlight all the night of Tuesday, October 12, 2016, a day after the NTA report.
On the fate of the Ukana Offot project, a resident of the area, Akparawa Samuel Inyang, said “I feel the Commissioner is trying to frustrate the NDDC project and this is borne out of envy and greed.”
“I do not know why one man could be more powerful than the government of Udom Emmanuel. Wherever he enters, he must showcase his nonchalant attitude. If you go to the State Secretariat Annex, he is the only ‘cock’ that must crow. He is occupying the penthouse all alone, depriving other occupants of office space. Why must it be Ephraim Inyang all the time? I pray God will touch him to assist this job to continue,” he concluded.
