Communities hail Diri over completed bridge, road
Residents of Sabagreia and Polaku communities in Kolokuma/Opokuma and Yenagoa local government areas of Bayelsa State have expressed joy about completion of a long-awaited bridge connecting both communities. The bridge,
Residents of Sabagreia and Polaku communities in Kolokuma/Opokuma and Yenagoa local government areas of Bayelsa State have expressed joy about completion of a long-awaited bridge connecting both communities.
The bridge, which has been neglected for many years, has now been finished and is set for inauguration by the Governor Douye Diri-led administration.
The Nation gathered that the people of Sabagriea in the past had to travel for two hours via East-West road to reach Yenagoa, the state capital.
However, with the completion of the bridge, the journey now takes just 15 minutes.
Paramount ruler of Sabagreia community, Rear Admiral Geoffrey Yanga, expressed excitement about the completion of the bridge, noting the benefits extend beyond just one community to benefit humanity as a whole.
He said: ‘’There is nothing to describe the feeling. I feel the way you are feeling. It is not only the community people that are benefiting from the road. Everybody is benefiting. It is an infrastructural development for humanity, not only for Sabagriea people.
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“So anything you do, don’t be zeroing your mind on a particular community, although there is a greater impact. Let’s not just put our mind on helping a community, you are helping humanity. You are helping everybody.
“Governor Diri has done a fantastic work. It eases our movement in and out of Sabagriea community and its environs.”
Compound Chief of Kalama Community, Chief Philip Eseri, highlighted the importance of the road to the community, noting the significant improvements in transportation time and costs, which have positively impacted their daily lives and economic activities.
He said: “Previously, we were going round from here to East West Road before getting to Gateway Road, Igbogene. It takes us like two hours to get to Yenagoa. So when this bridge project stopped, we were very burdened.
“So when they started doing the road again, personally as the landlord chief, I told our youths that the benefits of the road are in the future. So right now if you board a ‘Keke’ here, it will take you straight to Yenagoa and it will take you highest 30 minutes.
“So, it has eased our transport situation, the time and the cost. It has given us a very good lease of life both financially and time factor. Our farm produces now quickly get to the market and Yenagoa faster.’’
Mrs Blessing Isere, a 64-year-old grandmother, expressed joy about the road project, saying travelling to Yenagoa from Sabagriea had become less burdensome.
She said: ‘’See our park here. It is very close to me. When I enter a vehicle here, they will take me to Tombia Junction, then I will take another vehicle to my daughter’s place. Before now, they would carry me with bike and drop me at Polako and they would pull me through (paddling in wooden canoes) water to the other side before ‘keke’ (tricycles) would carry me to Tombia Junction. I’m very happy now that my people have got a road that we are taking to get to Yenagoa.”
Works Commissioner Moses Teibowei praised the Diri administration for the pursuit of infrastructural development.
He said Polako-Sabagriea road and bridge would facilitate easier and faster movement of goods and people within the region.
Said he: “Know that from Sabagriea to East West Road is about, 21 kilometres. If you have to go to Yenagoa from Sabagriea, you have to go through East West Road, you drive 21 kilometres before you get to East West Road. From East West Road, you now drive to Glory Drive Phase 1. That will take you another, say, 10 minutes.
“Then from Glory Drive Phase 1 to Igbogene, Ecumenical Centre will also take you not less than eight to 10 minutes. Before you drive another seven, eight minutes on Glory Drive Phase 2, that’s when you will even get to Tombia Roundabout.
‘’But now, from the LNG Junction, it will take you less than five minutes, you are in Onopa. And it won’t take you up to 10 minutes from Sabagriea to get to that particular point.
‘’So you can look at the period of time that you have saved in terms of traveling all the way to East West Road to get to Yenagoa. These are some of the things the governor saw and said, no, we need…, the state government to take over this project from NDDC, because it has not been attended to for over 15 years.”
