The development of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State remains the waking thought and key motivation for her administration, Chairman of Bonny LGA, Dame Anengi Claude-Wilcox has said.

She said this on Monday, November 13, 2023 in Bonny, Rivers State when she led officials of the Bonny Kingdom Development Committee (BKDC), Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), Bonny Utility Company (BUC) and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc on an inspection tour of Mission and Court Roads.

Both roads have been earmarked for expansion in lieu of the imminent completion of the Bonny-Bodo Road which will terminate at the Shell gate area. Mission Road, which connects with both Shell Road on the southern flank and Hospital Road on the eastern flank at the Bonny Roundabout, also connects with the King William Dappa Pepple, which terminates at the Coal Beach, Bonny.

The Bonny LGA boss, who walked on foot for hours across all the inspected roads, stated that the tour was for the purpose of ascertaining likely challenges that may obstruct the soon-to-commence road expansion and drainage construction project.

She explained that it was with a view to gathering on-site perspectives, and ensure that observed shortcomings are fixed towards guaranteeing a smooth process and avoiding hardship on the part of residents of the affected areas.

“The only thing that will bring me out on the street is development,” explaining that “we came to supervise the coming road that we plan to widen from Shell gate to beach”.

“So, I came to look at how the road is going to be constructed and the impact we are going to have, negatively and positively, on the people.

“I came with the Bonny Kingdom Development Committee, in company of some NLNG staff, Julius Berger, and even the BUC staff; so that we look at it collectively and see the areas that might be demolished in the process of constructing the road and the level of compensation that we have to go into.”

“That’s why I came out to ensure that the road map is going to be conducive for everybody and, just as they have discussed with me privately, we came to inspect the site to see how the construction is going to be. That’s why I’m out.”

In his remarks, Chairman of the Bonny Kingdom Development Committee (BKDC), Amairigha Hart expressed his delight over the development, noting that the expansion project was a forward looking plan to assuage the traffic challenges that surface upon the completion of the Bonny-Bodo Road, which would naturally escalate the traffic situation in Bonny.

He commended the NLNG, BUC and the Bonny Local Government for the proactive disposition to the project, pointing out that it underscores their positive posture towards the development of Bonny LGA, assuring that the BKDC would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure the development narrative of the island LGA is sustained.

In the Bonny LGA chairman’s entourage were NLNG’s Manager, Community Affairs and Sustainable Development; Charles Epelle, General Manager, Bonny Utility Company (BUC); Dominic Dung, Operations Manager of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Ulrich Stahl, Woman Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bonny LGA Chapter; Christaben Frank-Hart, and Chairman of Ayambo Community; Godswill Jumbo, amongst others.