A portion of the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road
Some prominent Abia residents have decried the deplorable condition of the Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene-Uyo-Calabar Expressway.
The road serves as a major link between South East and South South states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
Auto crashes resulting in avoidable loss of lives and property have become a regular occurrence on the highway.
The traditional ruler of Awomneze Autonomous Community, Eze Eugene Ndimele, appealed to the Federal Government to come to the rescue of his subjects following the deplorable state of the road.
The monarch said, “I have been caged as my palace and most villages in the area have been cut off because motorists avoiding failed portions of the highway use alternative roads.”
An Umuahia-based public servant, who hails from Ikot-Okubo in the Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Linus Efiong, told Southern City News that driving on the highway was hellish.
He said, “Each time I remember travelling through the road, I weep. Once, I have slept on that road. From Umuahia to Uyo should not be more than 50 minutes, but now we spend over two hours on it because of the bad state of the road.”
Also lamenting the poor state of the highway was Senator Theodore Orji, representing Umuahia Central constituency.
He said unless something urgent was done to re-fix the road, it might completely collapse as the rain increased in momentum.
The former Abia State governor noted that the plights of commuters could worsen if no quick attention was given to the highway.
He called on the Federal Government to take a remedial measure to make the road passable pending when a permanent job would be done on it.
He said, “If nothing is done immediately as a palliative measure, the road will likely cut into two and the hardship of the road users will be unthinkable.
“When I was the governor of Abia State, I made sure that palliative works were carried out regularly on that road because I appreciated the importance of the road to the people going and coming from Akwa Ibom and Calabar.
“The present governor in Abia is also doing his best on roads rehabilitation and construction in Aba and other places. But because of the rainy season and its effects on that road, there is an urgent need for FERMA to start palliative work before it gets out of hand.”
He said rehabilitation of the highway was discussed in the last senate, adding that action delayed for unknown reasons.
“In the last Senate, the issue of roads came up and it was agreed that all roads be treated holistically, but that of Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene-Uyo-Calabar Highway was not executed then, which is the reason FERMA needs to act now”.
He said that the people of the South East and South South, who constituted the major users of the road, should be given a sense of belonging through the rehabilitation of the highway.
No comments:
Post a Comment