RESIDENTS LAMENT BAD STATE OF ROADS IN ABA

With the rains gradually setting in, residents of Aba, the commercial capital of Abia state, have bemoaned the bad state of road networks in the city and environs, calling on the state government to make efforts to address the anomaly.
    
The roads identified to be in the state of disrepair are, Ngwa, Uratta, Etche ,Azikiwe,Ehi, Cemetary, Emelogu , Ukegbu, Umuola and Ehere, Peoples, Obohia, Ohanku, Omuma, Osusu Port Harcourt, Milverton Avenue and Ukwu Mango which links the Ariaria International Market to the Port Harcourt – Enugu Expressway. Some of them have witnessed rehabilitation works when stones and cement were used to patch the potholes, but reverted to a worst state within the last festive season.
    
The situation, the residents said, is causing untold hardship to motorists and commuters alike, resulting to traffic congestions, series of accidents and loss of man hours. They added that the traffic jams have taken a serious dimension in Aba this raining season as commuters spend long hours on the road, mostly between 7am - 9am and 4.30pm – 8.30pm.
   
A cross section of those who spoke Pointblanknews.com want the authorities to declare a state of emergency in the road sector. Mr. Udochi Matthew, a bus driver who ply the Aba-Ikot Ekpene road said “the state government should emulate the efforts of neighbouring states like Akwa Ibom in engaging direct labour to fix bad portions.

He recalled that drivers spend huge parts of the returns they make to fix their broken vehicles resulting from the effects of bad roads and traffic jams.
   
Other residents have lamented the slow pace of work going on in some roads where contracts were reported to have been awarded by the state government since last year, stressing that if nothing is done, the state of the roads will be worst.

Pointblanknews.com sources revealed that the construction firm engaged on the Ohanku road only did a skeletal work before the Christmas break and left, adding that since the beginning of the year, nothing serious has been done by the company.

“According to the source, ”I’m afraid that with the rains gradually setting in, if nothing urgent is done, this road will be worst this year. Although, I’m not a road construction Engineer, from what I have seen from the company so far, it doesn’t have the capacity of reconstructing the road.
 
“When we learnt that Gov. Theodore Orji visited Aba last week to inspect road projects, we thought he would have been here to have a look at what the company is doing and know if they are capable of handling the job, but he did not get here.”
 
For Mr. Felix Mbaogu, a businessman, “a reputable construction company like Julius Berger should be engaged to fix the roads for them to last longer”.

He decried the prevailing incidence of bad roads in the city which were constructed during the last dispensation, comparing them to Azikiwe, Asa, St Michaels and other roads constructed by the late Sam Mbakwe administration in the early 80s, which are mostly in good shape.
    
Others who wished not to be named condemned the distinction between Federal and state government in the maintenance of roads in the State and called on the state government to fix all roads to reduce the suffering of the masses and later settle with her Federal counterpart as being done by various state governments.

“Many portions of the Aba – Ikot Ekpene highway were impassable last year. Commuters suffered as they were made to go through interior communities before getting to Aba. I went through the road last week, i saw red mud being laid on the road.

“Why can’t the state government rehabilitate the failed portions to ease the sufferings of the masses? If the Abia state government insist it is a federal road, are they not supposed to rehabilitate the road and later make claims to the federal government as being done by others?, a source asked rhetorically. 
  
In most areas of the city, it has become a common sight to see men use broken stones and cement to fill the bad spots which is usually a short relief as they are soon washed away as vehicles move on them.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that the Abia state government do not engage reputable companies to rehabilitate roads in the state. A visit to most of the roads where works are going revealed that the heavy duty equipment being used may have been hired as they do not bear the trademark of any known construction firm.
 
Recall that the Abia state government last October, said it awarded contracts to the tune of N4billion Naira to rehabilitate roads in Aba. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chief Don Ubani, who briefed correspondents in Umuahia after the State Executive Council meeting added that the contracted firms were only waiting for rains to subside to commence work on all the bad roads in the city.