Enugu State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure has urged residents in the state to help government safeguard public infrastructure within their domains.
The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr Patrick Ikpenwa, made the call in an interview on Tuesday in Enugu.
According to Ikpenwa, safeguarding public infrastructure is part of the maintenance culture of the state government in view of its limited resources.
“Another challenge, basic challenge on the side of this maintenance is the attitude of the people; the road users some of them are just very funny.
“I can’t understand somebody will just come out of his house and then dump refuse at the centre of the road; sometimes inside the gutter. So where do you expect water to flow?
“So, we are also trying to kind of sensitise the people.
“We have a programme we call `Ministry of Works Half-Hour ( a radio programme) is a way of trying to sensitise people and also interact with the people. So we do that to create awareness.
“And in the same programme, we have told them repeatedly what they should not be doing on these roads, that these roads we should own them.
“It is not just about constructing them. But when it is constructed it should be owned by us; and we should own it and jealously for that matter.
“Then, issues like burning of tyres on the road; cutting across (the road) indiscriminately.
”When somebody wants to provide some services here and there they should take permission (from the ministry) and then, it should be done properly.
“Erection of bumps or what have you, there are ways it will be done and done properly.
“So, we are actually pleading with the public to know that they should help us, even it is on the side of surveillance.
”If you see somebody trying to work against our efforts, let the person know (the negative consequence) and if the person refuses you let us (ministry) know.’’
The commissioner further said that the ministry had started a statewide sensitisation, especially in the rural areas, against the abuse of public infrastructure.
Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State had given priority to the construction and re-construction of rural roads in order to open up the hinterland for development and investment.
The government had also earmarked 24 rural roads for construction or rehabilitation under its rural development programme and that work had already started on some rural roads.
