East-West road: Ex-agitators vow to shut P’Harcourt Refinery, others

With the exception of a last-minute alteration, a gang of former agitators of Ogoni descent has pledged to shut down the Port Harcourt Refining Company and other international companies in Eleme, Rivers State due to the poor condition of the East-West Road.

The Notorea Fertiliser Company, among others, were among the numerous businesses in the area that the ex-agitators under the banner of Ogoni Living Martyrs listed as being shut down.

It was claimed that the case will compel the Federal Government to start work on a road that had been abandoned for years despite leading to important national landmarks like the Nigeria Ports Authority and the Oil and Gas Free Zone.

The former agitators claimed that numerous Ogoni people and other Nigerians had perished in traffic accidents.
Remember how numerous youth organisations had in the past organised demonstrations to alert the federal government to the need to repair the road?

Speaking to reporters in Port Harcourt on Sunday, the Ogoni Living Martyrs’ coordinator, Kpuebari Marcus, also stated that the group aimed to undermine the country’s economy in order to pressure the government to repair the road.

Many Ogoni people and other Nigerians have died while utilising the road, he said. Because we are losing our brothers and sisters, we want to close the businesses.The Ogoni people aren’t treated with respect by the government. Because they won’t be generating cash for the government, we are aware that closing these businesses will have an impact.

According to Barinuazor Emmanuel, President of the National Youth Council of the Ogoni People, the terrible condition of the Eleme stretch of the East-West Road is now intolerable.

“Since we are left with no choice except to halt all economic activity, we are not awaiting anyone’s arrival.

“We issued a 14-day ultimatum that has since expired, so at any point we will shut down Indorama, Notorea, NNPC, and all 200 other businesses in Eleme.

“Their only action was to extend an invitation to the National Assembly Committee on NDDC. They assured the public that they would arrive to repair the road before the month of August came to a close and that the NNPC would provide the necessary funding. September has passed and nothing has been done.

Elder Uncle Mukan, the spokesman for the Ogoni Living Martyrs, also said that while the government continued to give lip service to the issue, trucks were still colliding with the Eleme part of the East-West road on a regular basis, creating traffic jams and fatalities.

He declared, “We won’t block the road any longer because doing so will also put our people through hardship.”