Ben Ezechime, Enugu
Commuters and Motorists plying both the old and new 9th Mile Oturkpo Federal Road have continued to lament over the deplorable state of the road, especially the Ukehe-Ohodo-Opi axis in Enugu State.
Speaking to Ikengaonline on the state of the road, a commuter, Mrs Elizabeth Ugwuagbo, described the road as mere death trap, saying that it had become passengers/motorists nightmare.
“Words alone cannot describe what we are passing through here. And the situation has been made worse by the rainy season. It is terrible,” she said.
Ugwuagbo said that due to the bad state of the road, she had cut the number of times she used to travel to Onitsha for her second hand items business.
“I trade on used items (aka Ok): shoes, clothes, bags and so on, and I used to travel to Onitsha, sometimes twice in a week, but now, I travel once in two weeks because of this road.
“I appeal to the Federal Government to help us fix this road as quickly as possible before the Christmas season; if not many people will not be able to reach their destinations for Christmas,” she said.
In the same vein, a trailer driver, Mallam Yinusa Yaro, said the road was becoming too dangerous, especially for truck drivers.
“Everyday many of our trucks fall and many times our colleagues (truck drivers) are killed in the process.
“I want the Federal Government to do something,” Yaro said.
Also speaking, Mr Ekene Eze, an inter-state bus driver, lamented that the road was destroying many vehicles and causing many threatening accidents.
“It is dangerous and very bad for our buses. I used to ply Obollo-Afor to Onitsha and load at Onitsha and return to Obollo-Afor the same day but now because of this bad portions of the road, you spend a whole day from Obollo-Afor to Onitsha.
“Before, I work for weeks before going to visit mechanic workshop but today, you must visit mechanic after every trip. This is too bad. I don’t know whether it is because we are Igbos, I don’t think you can get this kind of roads in the North,” he said.
Eze called on the authorities to try and work on the road before the Yuletide, saying that if not, it would be difficult for most people to travel along the same road.
Ikengaonline reports that members of the National Assembly representing the constituencies spanning across the said portion of the road have jointly sponsored a bill urging relevant authorities to fix the road to enable economic activities in that part of the South-East.
The road, which was constructed in the 50s, rehabilitated in the 70s, serves as the link and entry point from the North to the South-East.
