…Protest against NDDC’s ineptitude
RESIDENTS and motorists, particularly the youths of Onicha-Ugbo took to the road over the weekend, barricading it to press home their protest over the neglect of the dilapidated Abuja-Onicha-Ugbo road constructed over 12years ago by the Niger Delta Development Company (NDDC), which they said is putting residential houses in the Ogbekenu village of the town in grave environmental danger.
According to the protesting youths, the road has turned to a nightmare for travellers, residents and other users, who drive through it daily, the mass protest of youths of Onicha-Ugbo and Idumuje-Ugboko communities, who blamed the NNDC for alleged ineptitude and gross irresponsibility.
A visit to the road depicts total neglect by the NDDC.
The youths demanded quick action on the road before the rainy season sets in, saying the present state of the road has become a burden to residents of Onicha-Ugbo, which in recent times triggered multiple erosions in the community.
A resident of Onicha Ugbo and President Idumu-Ubulu Youths, Ugochukwu Iwegbu said, “this road has become a death trap and a burden to our community, particularly Ogbekenu Village and Idumu-Ubulu quarters.
“We are appealing to the Federal Government and the agency responsible for the maintenance of this road to act fast before we record colossal damage.
“We have been crying out when the road was not as bad as this but we were not taken serious. We can’t take this anymore; we are prepared to go on a protest march to Abuja because the state of the road is affecting our houses.”
A commercial bus driver who plies the road regularly said: “We have been suffering this for a long time.
At times, we spend three days travelling to Abuja because of the state of this road. We want the government to take action because this is the shortest route to Abuja, through Auchi and Okene.”
According to another resident of the town, Ijeli Okolie, the Okwelegwe of Idumu-Ubulu, “It is called Abuja Road because it is the shortest access way from South East and South South Nigeria to Abuja and other northern part of the country.
“It links the Onitsha-Benin City highway with Idumuje Ugboko, Ewohimi, Ekpoma, Ubiaja, Irrua, Auchi, Okene to Abuja and beyond.”
He averred that a section of the road, a kilometer stretch has failed continuously since it was built by the NDDC over 10 years ago.
According to him, a prominent indigene of the town and former Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu and a former House of Representatives member cum billionaire businessman, Ned Nwoko, who hails from the neighbouring town, Idumuje Ugboko have at different times tried to repair the road.
“NDDC has a zero percent track record in maintaining anything they build. The road keeps being seriously damaged by hundreds of Dangote and BUA cement trailers, luxurious buses and other heavy vehicles passing through daily.
“The damaged area is so deep in some parts that it routinely swallows a whole Dangote Cement trailer during the rainy season,” Okolie stated.
A youth of the town, who identified himself as Isioma Ashibogwu told our Correspondent that the road helped transformed Onicha Ugbo into an important gateway town bubbling with commercial activities.
He stated that the State and the Local Governments do not want to intervene because of the deep corruption at NDDC.
“There is the believe that if the road is repaired by anyone other than NDDC, the corrupt officials in the agency would award themselves an identical contract to repair the road and pocket the funds. The conundrum here is that it is near impossible to get NDDC to do the needful, hence the intense protestations being displayed by Onicha-Ugbo and Idumuje-Ugboko youths,” he said.
Onicha-Ugbo is a town with five villages, with over 30,000 inhabitants in the Aniocha North Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria. The town’s traditional ruler is His Royal Majesty, Agbogidi Victor Chukwumalieze 1.
