South Eastern Works Commissioners to storm Abuja over failed roads

UMUAHIA, ABIA STATE — Worried by the level of dilapidation of federal roads in the five South Eastern states, Commissioners of Works in the zone, weekend, resolved to storm Abuja to meet Works Minister, Mr. Mike Onolememen, to seek a solution to the bad state of roads in the area.

At the meeting, which held in Umuahia, after a tour of some of the dilapidated roads, the commissioners, under the umbrella of Forum of South-East Commissioners of Works, said it was time the Federal Government paid attention to the bad state of the roads in the South East, which they described as constituting a death trap to the people.

The forum said:  “We are the people suffering. We will go to Abuja to let them know what the South East people are going through. We will also meet the new chairman of FERMA to equally let him know about the deplorable condition of the roads.”

Though the commissioners did not give details of what they would discuss with the minister, they, however,  hinted that they would suggest the engagement of capable contractors to handle the construction/reconstruction of roads in the zone.

The meeting was attended by works commissioners from Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu, while Anambra State Commissioner for Works was absent on account of being indisposed.

His Imo State counterpart, who is also the deputy governor, was excused for lateness as he was attending the burial of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu’s wife, Eudora.

The commissioners said the need for collective idea on the best way to tackle the problem became necessary because the bad roads seemed to have defied the individual efforts of states.

In their communiqué, read by the host commissioner, Prince Kingsley Mgbeahuru of Abia State, the forum lamented that several lives and valuable goods had been lost on the roads due to the dilapidation, and regretted that it had further visited increased hardship on the people of the zone.

-Nigeria Local Trend, Abia State

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Anayo Okoli reporting

Source: Vanguard