Our correspondent reports that the bad portions of the road, measuring over ten kilometres, have become a nightmare to the users.
Some of the road users that spoke with THE WHISTLER on Thursday recounted their losses as a result of the dilapidated road. According to them, the state of the road has damaged their vehicles and goods, caused air pollution, destroyed their businesses and caused vehicular accidents.
Onyinye Eze has a restaurant along the road. She said, “My shop is in front of my house. So I don’t pay house rents. But the road has become bad. The worst is that the dust generated from the road pollutes the air to the detriment of my customers. Many customers don’t enjoy patronising my shop again because of dust.
“I want the federal government to act fast because we are dying. This place is turning into what Opi-Ogbede-9th road has become. We are afraid because by the rainy season, this road will collapse.”
” Most of our passengers insist we follow this bad road because of their safety. Otherwise, this route is not passable. It reminds me of the 9th Mile section of this same road that has been abandoned for many years.”
A community leader at Amalla Community in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Chief Matthew Itodo said, “This is a federal road. There is no political will to fix this road. It passes through a part of Benue that Chief David Mark, former Senate President, represented in the Senate for twenty years. We have always heard that contracts have been awarded for its repair, but nothing tangible has happened. Governments of Benue and Enugu states have shown no concerns towards salvaging the situation.”
Our correspondent gathered that the road has, however, been awarded for repairs spanning from Makurdi in Benue State to 9th Mile in Enugu State. It was further gathered that work has commenced from the Makurdi end of the road.
