By Archibong Jeremiah
Barely 48 hours before leaving office, the Cross River State governor, Sen. Benedict Ayade, commissioned the 10.8km Tinapa junction to Odukpani junction dual carriageway and the spaghetti flyover at Odukpani junction.
The flyover is expected to address the perennial gridlock experienced by motorists and commuters on the ever-busy Odukpani junction. The junction is the major entry point into Calabar from the central and northern parts of the state and other states.
The construction of the flyover and dualization of the Tinapa junction to the Odukpani junction commenced in 2018 and has been a subject of controversy. The project cost the State government N42 billion, funded from the 2018 to 2020 budget.
Investigation shows that six months after the commission, the project began failing due to the poor quality of work.
A lane of the dual carriageway has been closed for over a month due to a landslide and over two dozen portholes were documented by TheInvestigator.
From the Odukpani Local Government gate, drivers use one-way until the Akimohs junction.
Signs of erosion washing away the edges of the road are numerous, and culverts are not spared by the erosion.
The road divider was stopped halfway, another lane was not tarred at all and the finishing of the road was very poor.
Procurement Violation
The companies responsible for the shoddy job are Zeon Engineering and Consulting and Zeka Global Company Limited.
Zeon Engineering and Consulting was contracted in 2018 to execute the project. But two years later it moved out of the site, leaving the road in far worse condition.
Thereafter, Zeka Global Company Limited, an indigenous construction firm replaced Zeon Engineering and Consulting without any records of the State releasing money for the project.
Further findings by TheInvestigator revealed that the company was incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on January 22, 2020, the same year it got the contract making it an offense against the Cross River State Procurement Law of 2020.
The law envisages that all contract-seeking entities would have been filing returns and paying tax, among other obligations, for three years prior by providing a tax clearance certificate.
Tax clearance for 3 years is sacrosanct as it is mandatory according to the checklist of documents required for due process review and certification in Cross River State.
Ghost Company
Information from the Corporate Affairs Commission shows that Zeka Global Company Limited has a paid share of N5 million and its address is No. 9 Maple Street Calabar South, Cross River State.
To find out why they delivered a shoddy job since no phone number or email address of the company is in the public domain, its address was visited.
Upon the visit, TheInvestigator found that the company never operated from that address. Two tenants in the compound with 5 apartments spoke on condition of anonymity.
A female tenant told this reporter “I have been here for 18 years of my life and have not heard about that company”.
She called a neighbor who corroborated her position saying “I don’t know that name, such a company doesn’t operate from here”.
Commuters, Traders Are Disappointed
The 10.8km dual carriageway and spaghetti flyover have not met the expectations of many, especially, to traders and commuters.
Mr. Idem Offiong, a snail trader, told TheInvestigator that the project caused him pain.
“We were all here when the project started, with the pain it caused us and the too much publicity by Ayade we expected more than a concrete wall and dusty road,” Idem said.
For Miss Anita Ukpai, a soft drink trader, the project was a blessing and a cause.
She spoke in vernacular saying, “For my business, the project helped me sell and made a small profit but the road was not properly done, I’m sure you saw that big hole there, for over a month now that lane has been closed, the level of portholes on the road shows the quality of job they did.”
Alhaji Idris Abdullahi, a truck driver said the idea of the spaghetti flyover was a mistake and is giving tanker drivers a tough time.
His words: “This flyover is a big mistake, it has caused problems for us tanker drivers with the fact that the road is not smooth as we kept hearing on the radio that it would be. Ayade tried but six months is too small for the road to spoil like this.”
A minibus driver, Sabastine Eno called on the government to fix the road for ease of traffic.
Eno said, “We have a long way to go in this state in terms of access roads in and out of the state. This road is supposed to solve that problem but the reverse is the case. Sweet Prince should do it quickly because it’s Christmas and pressure will increase.”
Mrs. Precious Akpan-Udo, a teacher said for her who plies the route daily to work in Odukpani from Calabar, is forced to deal with regular body pain.
Master Kingsley Edem, a motorcyclist said the year is fast running out and the government of Sen. Bassey Edet Otu should make haste before December else “it would be painful for those traveling,” he said. Adding that “the speed has to be faster because the work to be done is much.”
On her part, Madam Katherine Ekpenyong told TheInvestigator that the road is only helping VIO, Army, Custom, Road Safety, and Police, not the people.
She said speaking in Efik “I’m an old woman and this is my community, I sell food here daily and I can only tell you that the road is helping VIO, Army, Custom, Road Safety, and Police not us. Imagine from Scanobo to Odukpani junction you will find all of them standing by a bad spot where they know drivers must stop, the rest you know.”
She also called on the governor to intervene quickly, “Prince Otu, our son and dear governor, please help us fix this road once and for all, Odukpani is your home.”
Governor Otu Should Do the Needful – Network Of CSO
When contacted for his opinion on the state of the road with the fact that it’s the end of the year and gridlock would be a daily occurrence if the road is not fixed, Leader Ben Usang, Coordinator of Cross River State Civil Society Network called on the government to act.
He commended the initiative, he said “It was a good idea that he extended the highway which the successive government made effort too on that road.
“When Ayade took up the task to expand the highway it was commendable though he would have reached out to the Federal Government to have done their duty to that road”.
Furthermore, he stated that “Right from when he took up the task we became worried about the other sections of the road”.
About the failed portions he said, “Definitely there are now failed portions on that road exposing commuters to the danger of cars passing in one lane which we thought was a thing of the past.
“That’s the reality, a lot of portions on that road have failed. Whether we support the project or are against it, it happened but it’s low standard”.
He urged the governor to prioritize the road. “Away from reality, the government of Prince Otu should immediately prioritize that road. Ordinarily, we should be asking the governor to extend or dualize the road up to Odukpani junction, he should start it very early. He should deliver a good road up to Akamkpa town.” he said.
Concluding he said, “The resources spent on the road should not bring us shame. I don’t know why the present governor has not seen the danger we are faced with but I think he should have an emergency intervention.”
It Will Be Fixed – Commissioner For Information
The Cross River State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Erasmus Ekpang spoke to TheInvestigator on the phone about what the government is doing.
Knowing that the road is the major entry and exit point from the State capital, Mr. Ekpang said “It will be fixed, they are going to do some intervention work on most of those areas”.
Proving that the current administration is on course he added, “You can even see in town they have begun filling the portholes. We will definitely intervene”.
On continuity, he asserted that “His Excellency had earlier said that he is going to complement the gains of the last administration. As you can see we are gradually trying to fill the portholes, so we will get to that road”.
This story was produced in partnership with Civic Media Lab under its Grassroots News Project.