The absence of security for contractors handling road projects was responsible for late completion of road project in Rivers, an official of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has said.

Mr Benedict Amarube, an engineer with the agency, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Friday.

Amarube said some roads projects, which were supposed to have been completed, had been abandoned by contractors due to sustained attacks from hoodlums.

He said the provision of security to contractors at project sites would not only help reduce such attacks especially from restive community youths, but would also help to facilitate the early completion of the road contracts in the area.

"Government should give us adequate security because most of the time we get attacked in most of the remote places we go for inspection. We see some youths ganging up as youth members and attack us; if we had security, all those things will not come up.

"We need adequate security to work and insecurity makes us not to supervise most of the road projects very well; we come and go instead of residing in the particular locality close to the site.

"I remember when Setraco (Construction Company) was working for us in Anambra state; the community gathered together and assisted and welcomed them; the reverse is the case in this part of the country." (NAN)