King Monday Whiskey, the Udurhie I, Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom, has urged the federal government to engage more contractors to fix the deplorable roads in the Niger Delta.

The traditional ruler told journalists on Saturday in Idjerhe, Ethiope West Local Government of Delta, that only one or two contractors could not fix the road from Benin to Calabar.

According to the royal father, now that the dry season is here, it will be better to engage more contractors to fix the roads before the rains come.

“The job should be awarded to multiple contractors, and none should get less than 50 kilometres section.

“The dry season is setting in, and government needs to take advantage of it and maintain the roads from Benin to Calabar.

“Government should, as a matter of urgent policy, redirect the contract for the maintenance of roads in the Niger Delta.

“No contractor should get less than a 50-kilometre section. You cannot put one contractor from Benin to Calabar, and it is not possible.

“Two contractors cannot do it; three can’t even do it.

“Let us mobilise more contractors to the road so that before the rainy season comes, the roads will be fixed,” he said.

The king decried the man-hour lost by travellers on Niger Delta roads.

‘You can spend an average of three hours to move from Idjerhe kingdom to Warri by road, while Benin to Calabar takes approximately two days.

“We need to redesign our priorities. Road is one of the essential priorities of any government,” he said.

Mr Whiskey appealed to President Bola Tinubu to prioritise the development of the Niger Delta.

According to him, crude oil production has improved, so development in all facets of the region should increase correspondingly.

The royal father urged the federal government to engage more Niger Delta people in the crude oil business because Nigeria remains one indivisible country.

He said that the involvement of the Niger Delta people in the crude oil business would enhance more collaborations.

(NAN)