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By Anayo Okoli
Monday, October 04, 2004
AWKA—OVER 35 communities in Orumba North and Orumba South Local Government Areas of Anambra state have sent a Save-Our-Soul (S.O.S) message to President Olusegun Obasanjo and the National Assembly over the condition of the only major road to their area, the Oko-Amaokpala-Ufuma-Umunze-Ibinta Federal road which they described as the “worst road in Nigeria today.” They said that the condition of the road had made them to be cut-off from the rest of Anambra state. The communities said that their people had been subjected to severe hardship as they now pay through their nose to get out of their area to Awka the state capital and Onitsha, the commercial city of the state.
Motorists have virtually abandoned the road as a result of the damage their vehicles sustain on this road. “We have been cut-off from the rest of Anambra State, even Nigeria, because even the Okigwe-Arondizuogu federal road which could have been a way out is not good. Imagine, the very few buses that risk their vehicles on this road collect N300.00 from Ekwuluobia to Umunze, a journey of less than 15m minutes, if the road is good. “Before 2002, we were managing this road until the Federal Government came with their 419 system. Obasanjo came here, and in a grand fanfare flagged off the road construction which they awarded to SETRACO. The company created a big problem on the road by scrapping the old tar and abandoned it. Since then nobody has come up to tell us what the problem is. The contractors said they were not paid, government said they have been paid.
“Whatever is the case, the suffering people of Orumba North and South and even our Imo and Abia States neighbours believe that ab initio, the government did not mean well for them, otherwise, why would the road construction end at Oko, the home of the former vice-president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, just less than three kilometers from Ekwuluobia. “You will not believe that our people now go through Enugu to Okigwe-Isuochi from Awka, that is a long road, spending hours in a journey of less than 15 minutes ordinarily. “Our appeal is for President Obasanjo and the leadership of the National Assembly to send a team to see this road themselves and report back to them. They will discover that what we are saying is far less than the situation on ground. The road was completely abandoned. They should hasten up and resolve whatever is the problem between them (Government) and the contractors.
“It is important to let them know that these communities are rich in agricultural produce such as rice, palm oil, cassava, yam and even fruits. The condition of the road is affecting business transactions in the area. Traders from Onitsha, Awka, Ekwuluobia and other places used to come down to this area to evacuate these produce, but it is no longer possible,” Chief Odinaka Ike, a spokesman of the communities said.
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