Ikpeazu seeks FG’s help on bad roads in Abia after Ripples Nigeria report

Governor of Abia state, Okezie Ikpeazu has lamented the deplorable conditions of the federal roads in the state.

The governor who listed the bad roads causing untold hardship on residents as Aba-PH segment of Enugu-PH Highway, Aba-Ikot Ekpene & Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Roads linking Abia to Akwa Ibom & Cross River States & Umuahia-Ohafia-Arochukwu Rd among others,
called for urgent intervention by the Federal Ministry of Works.

He said “Abia as a state bordered by seven other states is replete with a number of federal roads cutting across the state into other states. However, almost all of such roads are in a state of total disrepair, causing untold hardship to road users from across the country

He said the conditions of the roads across the state were suffocating businesses because majority of its people are in the trade and commerce sector.

“Given that our people have trade & commerce as their main source of livelihood, landlocking Abia will amount to asphyxiation of our citizens. Save for the alternative new road we did between Akwa Ibom and Aba through Ekwereazu, the plight of our roads would have been unimaginable!

Mr Ikpeazu added that an ongoing construction at the Osisioma Owerrinta road reported by Ripples Nigeria was stopped by the federal government.

Read also: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT! 80 exclusive pictures of Aba as Ripples Nigeria returns one year after

“We therefore appeal for immediate FGN intervention on these roads including Osisioma Owerrinta through the NNPC Depot in Osisioma where we have been stopped from continuing our work by Federal Ministry of Works & Housing through a letter we received just yesterday.

Recall that Ripples Nigeria had embarked on a fact finding mission on the state of roads in Abia State, a story which ran for two years.

Ripples Nigeria in 2019 randomly picked and took photos of a few important roads in the state, which were in deplorable conditions. We returned the next year in 2020 to discover very little changes had been made, revealing how contractors abandoned federal road constructions without corresponding consequences.

A visit to the state one year after revealed that the situation had not improved but continue to deteriorate causing negative impact on businesses.

Meanwhile some of the contractors claimed reasons for incomplete projects were usually due to lack of payment, or late payment among others.

By Oluwakemi Adelagun…

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