Felix Uche, a member of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, has blamed the slow pace of the construction of the East-West road for the deaths that occurred during the recent tanker accident in Port Harcourt.

Uche, while moving a motion under a matter of urgent public importance on Tuesday, said the slow pace of the construction of the road caused the trapping of motorists when the fire escalated.

“All the cars trapped in the fire were in a gridlock and had no way to reverse or escape from the incident,” he said.

He said the contractor, Messers Reynolds Construction Company, RCC, has been working at a very slow pace despite the importance of the road.

It would be recalled that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, had also raised similar concerns about the accident.

Consequently, the House resolved to mandate RCC Ltd to provide a smooth alternative lane for the movement of commuters while construction is ongoing.

Also, the House mandated the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure that RCC steps up the pace of the road construction to ensure completion in record time.

East West Road: Lawmaker blames tanker tragedy on slow pace of construction