Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has plunked down a whopping N3 billion as mobilisation fee for two flyover bridges in Yenogoa, the state capital.
The total cost of both projects is N15.6 billion, has learned.
Dickson’s action comes at a time that millions of residents in coastal areas of the state remain cut off from the rest of the world. Most of Bayelsa’s communities are not accessible by road, making the construction of bridges a critical necessity.
It will be recalled that General Andrew Azazi, a former National Security Adviser, lost his life in a helicopter crash in Bayelsa last December while returning from one such community.
Dickson, who personally presented the upfront payment to the management of Julius Berger, said that the flyover bridges would add aesthetics to Yenagoa.
As the governor made his aesthetics move, critical infrastructure such as roads and bridges that were damaged in the recent flood disaster are still begging for attention, and there is no drinking water.
One of the flyovers Julius Berger will be constructing, at Tombia Road/Edepie Junction, is valued at N9.8 billion. The second one, valued at N5.8 billion, will be sited at a roundabout at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) petrol station.
Bayelsa State last month received a total of N15,215,365,755.87 from the Federation Account, according to figures from the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission in Abuja.
Total deductions at source stood at N2,385,690,315, and the balance net inflow at N12,829,675,439.91.
