BY  CHRIS OCHAYI

ABUJA—The Minister of State and Supervising Minister for the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Darius Ishaku, has said that the provision of N30 billion for the East- West Road project in the 2014 budget of the ministry was grossly inadequate, given the scope of work needed on the road.

Ishaku spoke at a meeting with the Chairman of SURE-P, General Martin Agwai, in Abuja, convened to assess the progress of the project and the contribution of the fund towards its completion.

He said that the intervention by SURE-P in 2013 had contributed immensely to the realisation of the project, which was being supervised by his Ministry.

According to him, the provision of N30 billion for the East-West Road project in the 2014 budget of the ministry was inadequate, pointing out that if more money was not made available, the target date envisaged for completing the project might be shifted to the first quarter of 2015, instead of December 2014.

He emphasised the urgency of completing  the 15-kilometer Port-Harcourt-Onne portion of the road to reduce traffic in the city, and assured that it will be given top priority.

“I can assure Nigerians that the work will continue and will be concluded once the funding issue is addressed,” he said.