Motorists Groan On Onitsha-Owerri Road As Reps Order Ferma To Begin Repairs

Motorists plying across Onitsha-Owerri road, weekend, cried to the Buhari administration to repair the deplorable road to alleviate the suffering they pass through on a daily basis. Investigations by our correspondent show that vehicles, mainly heavy duty, usually get stuck in the road.

A trailer driver, Musa Abdullahi, said, “The propeller of my lorry pulled here since two days. This road is making life very difficult. We drove all the way from Lagos, and it is always here that we have this problem more. The other bad side is towards Enugu after Ninth Mile. I want the federal government to do something on these roads.”

A private motorist, Dr Johnson Agumuo, said, “It’s unfortunate. Successive administrations have come and gone, but gave little or no attention to the federal roads in the East. President Buhari is trying, but as the father of the nation, he should do more. I think he does not have the true picture of the state of roads in this region. He would have done more. The repairs being carried out on these roads are of a snail’s pace.”

Meanwhile, hopes for the repair of the bad portions of Onitsha-Owerri road were ignited last week following a resolution of the House of Representatives that the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) commence rehabilitation works on the Oba-Upper Iweka axis of the road. This followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon Obinna Chidoka representing Idemili North and South Federal Constituency of Anambra State in the National Assembly.

Chidoka had during the motion informed the House that the absence of a functional rail line in the area made the road the only route for conveying cargo consignments coming and moving out of the entire Southeast and Southsouth zones.

In his words, “The pressure exerted on the road coupled with the erosion of the soil surfaces due to several factors have resulted in a deep gully that has almost split the dual carriage way into two. The effect of this unending gridlock on the road is diverting traffic to Obosi roads which are not meant for heavy traffic. This causes untold hardship and death from avoidable accidents, and also damages the township roads.”

He then made an urgent case for ‘a quick palliative measure by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) pending when a more permanent reconstruction work will be done on the road’.

THE WHISTLER reports that the Onitsha-Owerri road connects the four other geo-political zones with Southeast and Southsouth zones.