The Commissioner representing Edo State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Patrick Asowerien, has set the record straight on the misconception that trailed the Abraka-Oben Road commissioned by the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh.
Asowerien made the clarification on Thursday while speaking to journalists at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Benin.
He described as inaccurate claims that the Federal Government has completed and commissioned the Abraka-Oben Road, when, in reality, it is still an ongoing project.
247nextnews.com reports that members of Ugu Youths Development for Change (UYDC), had during a protest on March 3, 2025, alleged that the Minister commissioned a “non existing road”.
The Coordinator of the youths, Comrade Monday Osemwenkhae, in a protest letter on Monday, titled: ‘Commissioning a non existing Abraka-Oben Road’, described the commissioning of the road as a calculated attempt to cover up the continuous neglect of the area that houses the largest gas deposit in West Africa.
But, Asowerien in his clarification, noted that the narrative presented by the protesting youths was misleading.
He said what the Minister commissioned was the first phase of the Abraka-Oben Road, spanning 9.8 kilometres.
He stated that plans were underway to launch the second and third phases of the road.
“No one has said that the federal government has completed the Oben road section of the project,” he explained.
Asowerien further clarified that construction work on Orhionmwon section of the 12.18 kilometers Oben-Umugun Road, which connects to the Benin-Abraka highway, was yet to commence.
The NDDC Commissioner who commended Momoh for including the crucial link roads in the Ministry’s 2025 budget, assured that the roads will connect Edo and Delta States when completed.
He added further that both the NDDC and other partners were working together to continue to improve the living standards of the people.
