By Nnaya Eziyi, Umuahia
Eng Nkole
A leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia state has cautioned the government on the economic danger of the deplorable condition of the Ozu Abam-Ndi Oji-Ndi Okere-Amivi Arochukwu road to the state.
Engineer Isaac Nkole spoke in Umuahia, the state capital, while reacting to the government’s recent approval of reconstruction of 19 roads across the state, adding that the road had been neglected for too long.
“I am in fact very surprised that the road is not included among those earmarked for reconstruction. I have also been wondering why even past administrations have not thought it necessary to fix it,” he noted.
He said the condition of the 7-kilometer road which crosses through many communities in Arochukwu local government area has almost paralysed both economic and business activities in the agrarian communities.
“This road is very strategic to the development of area and the state in general in many ways. But since its complete break-down the people have not been finding it easy moving from one community to another.”
Nkole argued that beside smallholder farmers, there are state-owned rubber plantation and other cash-crop plantations in the area which have been suffering the negative impact of the road.
“With the coming of the rain, the situation has worsened. The people are now finding it very difficult to access Arochukwu, the headquarters of the area, The government must intervene now to save the situation.”
Nkole, an indigene of the area, who expressed appreciation to the government for the construction of Okobo bridge on the road, added that with the completion of the bridge, the journey has just begun.
“We will not stop drawing the attention of the government to this challenge which has retarded the socioeconomic development and wellbeing of the area until it is addressed to the last point.”
He, therefore, called on the representatives of the area at all levels of government to leverage on their good offices and positions to attract intervention on the road to open it up to its full economic potentials.
