South-south monarchs ask Tinubu to complete east-west road, extend Warri rail to Abuja

The South-South Monarchs Forum has asked President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the Warri-Itakpe rail line is connected to Abuja for easy access to the country’s capital. 

Felix Mujakperuo, the chairman of Delta state traditional rulers, spoke in Abuja on Tuesday shortly after members of the forum to a meeting with President Tinubu at the presidential villa

Mujakperuo said “we just have to catalogue our sufferings and what we want the president to do for us so that we can feel that we are part of this country”.

“We come to our listening president with a catalogue of our requests in the region. In the region, we produce and give resources to the country, yet we are suffering amid plenty,” Mujakperuo, the vice chairman of the forum said.

“The president said he would listen, look at our request, and do the needful.

“We also felt like he should try and link up the Itakpe railway to the Abuja railway so that, right from Warri, we can safely drive to Abuja.”

In September 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Warri-Itakppe rail line after many years of neglect.

During the inauguration, Buhari ordered that the rail line should be extended to Abuja.

Warri is a city in Delta state, while Itakpe is in Kogi.

Speaking further, the monarch said they also appealed to Tinubu to revive the abandoned ports in the region to create job opportunities and improve the economy.

“What about the abandoned ports? We feel that if those ports are revived, it will bring employment to our people and improve the economy of this country,” he said.

“There are a lot of things that we said he should do for us, like the east-west road that has been abandoned for so many years and most of the roads in the south-south.

“You cannot have access to Abuja; from Port-Harcourt to Aba is not passable; from Benin to Uromi to Okene is not passable.”