Uyo — Project manager, Gitto Construzioni Gene-rali Nigeria Limited, Mr. Gitto Ghanem Rashieh, has blamed the slow pace of work on section IV of the East/West road, Akwa Ibom State axis, on the apathy of the people and the rains.

Rasbieh, while speaking with journalists during an inspection tour of the road with a joint team of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and officers of Federal Ministry of Works, said work has been slow due to the indifference and what he described as unnecessary demands by people of the area.

"Every day they come up with new demands; you just don't know what they want. In August, they set two of our mixers ablaze, killed one of our drivers and injured many of our employees. We wrote to the Minister of Niger Delta and attached pictures for them to provide us with adequate security, but they have not answered us," he said.

He added that the restiveness caused the company to suspend operation for a month.

He lamented over incessant traditional injunctions like summoning the company's management to different native courts, demand for culverts and cement for personal use from the company by the indigenes.

Leader of the team, Mr. Mazi Ohuabunwa, commended Gitto for achieving 52 per cent of work completion, and urged them to speed up work.