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Federal roads are death traps, says Udenwa
By Ben Duru
Correspondent, Owerri
Governor Achike Udenwa of Imo State
has described federal roads in the state as death traps.
He added that the activity of the
Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) was embarrassing, explaining that the
total budget of the government on road repairs in the state was negligible.
Udenwa’s comments came after complaints by motorists
plying the Umulolo/Uga Road that the Federal Works Controller in the state, who
is also in charge of FERMA, has abandoned the road repair project.
The motorists said the road had deteriorated and it was
affecting their vehicles that easily get spoilt after a tortuous trip.
They called on the Federal Minister
of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, to redeploy the controller of works and
bring another expert who would take his job more seriously.
Udenwa, who was in Abuja, decried the abandoning of the road
by FERMA, adding that the slow pace at which the contractors are repairing
other federal roads in the area calls for concern.
He said the non-execution of the
rehabilitation work on the Orlu/Uga road whose contract was awarded by the
government in the mid 70s has caused gully erosions in the vicinity.
The governor said unless something was done urgently to
reclaim the road, erosion would cut it into two and the disaster and hardship
this would be bring upon the people would be unimaginable.
Udenwa added that those other roads that have been abandoned
are the Ihube/Okigwe, Owerri/Umuahia, Ihiala/Orlu/Umuelenmai roads and that the
earlier the roads are completed, the better for the people.
He insisted that government’s intervention through the
ministry of works is urgently needed so ha it does not deteriorate further.
Ogunlewe reiterated government’s determination to give
all bad roads in the country a face-lift but that this would be within
available resources.
He said inadequate funding was responsible for the
non-completion of most of the roads whose contracts were awarded, adding that
government was doing everything possible to remedy the situation.
The minister
added that one of projects government is particularly interested in is the
dualisation of the Onitsha/Owerri/Aba road.
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