Residents, motorists lament over poor roads network

Motorists, commercial tricycle operators and residents of Ayaba Umueze in Osisioma Local Government Area of Abia State have called on the local and state government respectively to come and alleviate their sufferings over the poor nature of roads in the area.

The Ayaba Umueze community plays host to the permanent site of the Abia State Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH) sitting off the ever busy Aba-Owerri Expressway.

Some of the roads that crisscross the community serve as alternative routes to enter and exit the commercial city of Aba during traffic build-up on Port Harcourt-Enugu and Aba-Owerri Expressways respectively, while the agrarian community uses the roads to convey their farm produce into the city center.

Our reporter who visited the area reports that some of the major roads in the area connecting residents and visitors to the heart of the city were in deplorable states.

A staff of ABSUTH who could not disclose his name told our reporter, that going to work using the Ayaba Umueze can best be described as hell on earth.

According to the staff, there was no need going to work anytime it rained because of the flood that is usually witnessed on the road whenever it rained.

The staff said that the level of patronage to the hospital has gone down as majority of their patients prefer going to other private clinics and hospitals than subjecting themselves to the nearly impassible roads.

Some commercial tricycle operators lamented the impact of the road to their business and patronage, stating that people prefer trekking home than boarding their tricycle.

According to one of the commercial tricycle operators who simply gave his name as Iheanyi they end up using the money they realized to repair their machines and would not have food to put on the tables of their families.

Some of the residents including one Chijioke Onyemachi while corroborating the account of the commercial tricyclists told our reporter that he resorted to use the services of tricycle operators and sometimes trek to Aba-Owerri road before joining another bus to his destination as he could no longer afford the cost of maintaining his car.

“The governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu came to this Ayaba Umueze. He was at the Oil Palm Nursery to flag off the distribution of 2million oil palm to farmers in the state.

“We were all waiting to see how he would pass through this same road, but the people leading him, took him to the venue through the Adventist, Eastern Union road that is a little bit motorable.

“We were hopeful that the road would have received accelerated attention from the governor if he had used the road. But that brings to question of what the local government is doing with all the monies that they get from the state and federal allocation.

“Their primary responsibility is the people in the grassroots including road and infrastructure. Let this be a wakeup call to the Osisioma local government chairman. He should rise to the occasion to address the impassible nature of roads in the local government area.

“Osisioma is an important local government to the economy of the state and the country and therefore deserve all the attention in the world. We want to inform the chairman and the state government that local and multi-national companies are already making plans to relocate their facilities out of the local government and the state, if information from the grapevines were anything to go by.”