in Benin City

A youth association known as Ugu Youths for Developmental Change (UYDC) yesterday  strongly condemned what they describe as the fraudulent inauguration  of a non-existing Abraka-Oben Road by the Minister for Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh.

Addressing the press on behalf of the group, the coordinator Osabueki-Omazenoghadue Osemwenkhae,  stated that the road in question does not exist in their locality, labeling the act as a “calculated attempt” to cover up the long-standing neglect of their communities by the ministry and its affiliated agencies, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

According to the UYDC, their area, which consists of over 13 communities in Ugu Ward, has been overlooked for years despite being home to Oben Oil Field, which holds the largest gas deposit in West Africa.

They criticised the federal government’s repeated use of the Oben name for financial and political gain while failing to deliver tangible development to the people.

“For emphasis, the real link roads to Oben are the Ugo-Obozogbe-Iguelaba Road and Umoghun-Nokhua-Oben Road.” 

“The former is currently under construction, funded by community contributions and a private company,” the group stated.

The youths urged President  Tinubu’s government to take decisive action and put an end to what they described as a deceptive practice of misusing their community’s name for false projects.

\“We call on the press to tell the world that this so-called Abraka-Oben Road is purely fictional, existing only in the imagination of those who commissioned it,” they concluded.