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By Madu Obi
The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, the apex sociopolitical youth group in the South East geopolitical zone, has urged President Bola Tinubu to release adequate funds to the Ministry of Works for massive road construction, arguing that it would help cushion the effects of subsidy removal.
President General of COSEYL, Comrade Goodluck Ibem said in a statement that the good thing is that the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi had, within a short period of time in office, shown capacity and should, therefore, be given necessary support and funding to succeed.
He said: "This is the first time in the annals of the nation where a Minister of Works took pains to visit all federal roads by himself without relying on information from aides or the ministry's workers, which might not be the correct position on ground and most times might be misleading.
"It is a well known fact that bad roads help to increase transportation fares, which, in turn, help to increase prices of goods and services."
"The subsidy removal has already led to an increase in prices of transportation, goods and services. Bad road network amounts to adding salt to injury, which will skyrocket the costs of living above the reach of the common man."
"This makes it expedient to construct our roads within a short record time. Our roads can only be fixed on record time by providing adequate funding to the ministry responsible for such great assignment."
"Immediate and adequate funding of the Ministry of Works is expedient to cushion the effect of oil subsidy as transportation fares will be reduced to places that previously had bad road network after construction."
"Senator Umahi has shown that he came prepared to serve with what he has done so far and provision of adequate funds is paramount to his performance."
"We call on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to work out modalities to make adequate funding for the Ministry of Works to construct new roads and complete on-going projects in other to cushion the effects of subsidy removal, which is biting hard on Nigerians".
According to Ibem, good road network would surely help Nigerians to breathe.
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