By Bridget Ikyado
Chief Vincent Ighile, President of Edo Community Leaders Association in the FCT, has urged the Federal Government to complete the dualisation of the Benin-Auchi-Okene road, which has turned into a death trap.
Ighile made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after a stakeholders meeting of the association in Abuja.
He said that the government should hasten work on the road project to save lives of commuters using the road.
Chief Vincent Ighile, President, Edo Community Leaders Association, FCT
According to him, the road has completely broken down and required immediate intervention.
“The terrible state of the road is causing untold hardship to our people back home and has prevented them from pursuing their day-to-day activities.
“Most crops get bad due to the delay in transportation from the source to its destination while commuters now lose quality hours as a result of the traffic gridlock,” he added.
The association president said it was more cheaper now to travel by air than drive through the dilapidated Benin-Auchi-Okene road.
Ighile said that they have made several appeal on government to repair the road before it becomes completely impassable.
“The road has become a death trap and spot for kidnappers to carry out their evil activities,” the association president added.
He, therefore, appealed to the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola and members of the National Assembly to save the situation.
“Look at the sufferings and untold hardships of the good people of Edo and commuters who hold their hearts in their hands when using the road.
“Commuters at times spend days on the road when heavy trucks fall or vehicles break down,” he said.
Ighile also said many commuters have died as a result of accidents on the road while some were abducted by gunmen who take advantage of the bad state of the road to perpetrate their criminal activities.
He advised the government to have a sincere culture of road maintenance instead of waiting till the complete collapse of a road before intervening.
“The cost of maintaining roads is cheaper than constructing new ones, we’ll continue to engage with the government to ensure the completion of the dualization of the road,” he added. (NAN)
