THE COMMON GOOD LETTER: An Open Letter To His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, Governor Of Delta State

By Rev. David Ugolor

Palliative Repairs on the East–West Road Are Welcome, But They Cannot Replace Permanent Reconstruction.

Your Excellency,

I write to commend your administration for responding to the widespread public concern over the deplorable condition of the East–West Road, particularly the Oghara–Mosogar axis of the Benin–Sapele–Warri–Ughelli corridor.

The decision to commence remedial works demonstrates responsiveness to the suffering of thousands of commuters, businesses and residents who have endured years of hardship on this strategic highway. Every genuine effort to reduce the dangers faced daily by road users deserves recognition.

However, while this intervention is welcome, it must also be stated that palliative repairs cannot solve a structural failure of national infrastructure.

The East–West Road is one of Nigeria’s most strategic highways and the economic lifeline of the Niger Delta. For over two decades, successive Federal Governments have allocated enormous public resources for its construction and rehabilitation. Yet corruption, weak contract management, lack of transparency, and poor accountability have prevented the completion of this critical national asset.

Today, the consequences are evident.

Lives have been lost in avoidable road accidents. Businesses have suffered severe economic losses. Farmers struggle to move their produce. Patients are delayed from accessing healthcare. Investors are discouraged, and communities across Delta, Edo and the wider Niger Delta continue to bear the enormous social and economic costs of official neglect.

The ongoing repairs may provide temporary relief, but they cannot address the extensive structural deterioration along the East–West Road. Without comprehensive reconstruction, many of these repaired sections may deteriorate again within a short period, resulting in another cycle of emergency interventions funded by taxpayers.

This is neither economically prudent nor sustainable.

Your Excellency, because these remedial works are being financed with public funds, they should be implemented with the highest standards of transparency and accountability.

The Delta State Government should make available to the public:

* The total amount approved for the palliative works.

* The scope of the contract, including the sections of the road covered.

* The implementation timeline and expected completion date.

* The procurement process that informed the award of the contract.

* The monitoring and quality assurance mechanisms that will ensure value for public money.

Providing this information is not merely an administrative exercise. It is a demonstration of good governance and respect for the citizens whose taxes fund public infrastructure. Transparency builds public confidence, promotes accountability, and enables citizens to monitor implementation.

Experience has shown that palliative interventions on the East–West Road often reduce public pressure without addressing the underlying structural failures. We must avoid another situation where scarce public resources are repeatedly spent on temporary repairs while the road continues to deteriorate.

The common good requires a more courageous and coordinated response.

Rather than allowing Delta State alone to shoulder responsibilities that constitutionally belong to the Federal Government, I respectfully urge Your Excellency to join forces with your colleague, Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, together with other Governors of the Niger Delta, members of the National Assembly from the region, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, the organised private sector and other stakeholders, to collectively demand decisive Federal Government action.

Together, the region should call on the Federal Government to:

* Declare a State of Emergency on the East–West Road.

* Provide dedicated emergency funding for the complete reconstruction of the corridor.

* Publish all contracts, budgets, implementation milestones and completion timelines.

* Establish an independent monitoring mechanism involving professional bodies, civil society organisations and affected communities.

* Hold contractors and public officials accountable for unnecessary delays and poor project delivery.

The East–West Road is not merely another highway. It is a national economic corridor that connects people, commerce, industries and critical oil and gas infrastructure. Its continued deterioration undermines economic growth, threatens public safety and weakens national development.

This moment therefore calls for more than temporary repairs.

It calls for bold leadership capable of uniting the Niger Delta in demanding a permanent solution from the Federal Government.

Your Excellency has taken an important first step by responding to the immediate suffering of the people. I respectfully encourage you to build on that action by leading a regional campaign that secures the complete reconstruction of the East–West Road once and for all.

The lives already lost cannot be restored.

But many more can still be saved.

The people of Delta, Edo and the entire Niger Delta deserve a safe, modern and durable East–West Road—not another cycle of temporary repairs.

May the common good continue to guide public leadership and public policy.

Respectfully,

Rev. David Ugolor

Civil Society Leader

Publisher, The Common Good Letter