July 20, 2020
By Ijendu Iheaka
Road users on Umuahia-Aba-Port Harcourt stretch of Enugu - Port Harcourt expressway have called on federal government to save them and their goods from perishing on the road due to extreme road failure.
The road users made their feelings known on Monday in separate interviews with our Correspondent in Aba, Abia.
Ibitamuno Inemoweri, a driver told our Correspondent that plying the Aba-Port Harcourt stretch of Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway had become a nightmare for travelers, business people, vehicle owners and drivers.
Inemoweri said the common people are suffering on the road because it has failed extensively and needed repairs to make it motorable again.
David Nzeduru, a driver plying Obigbo -Osisioma route said that extreme failure of the route had increased the duration of their trip from Aba to Obigbo from 40 minutes to two hours or more.
“When you enter the road because of its deplorable state, there is much traffic jam because of trucks that broke down in the middle of a bad portion of road or goods and containers that fell off trucks and blocked the road.
“If you want to pass from one lane to another, your vehicle can get stuck on a bad portion, in fact, the problem we go through because of this bad road is inexplicable.
“We beg the federal government to work on this road even if it means doing some patchwork on it pending the time it will be completely rehabilitated, let them do it to save us and our businesses”, he said
Onaze Osas, a truck driver working with TSL Lagos, said the Aba-Port Harcourt road which is among his routes has reduced the rate at which the company meets its target and pays them their earnings.
“Moreover, when our company loads our vehicle, our company and the company they are to deliver goods for have time targets.
“But when our company fails to meet our own time target by not getting to our customer’s location on time, it affects our customers ( the company we are delivering goods for) for which they will deduct our company’s earnings.
“This deduction will in turn affect our own earnings because our company will reduce our trip allowance from say N10, 000 to say N 5,000, this affects us and our families in a very bad way.
“So we ask government to repair this road and make life easier for struggling citizens; Nigerians are hardworking and our governments need to encourage them”, he said.
Mr Chinweike Sunday another road user said that the suffering of road users on the Aba - Port Harcourt stretch of the Enugu - Port Harcourt expressway is very pathetic issue.
He regretted that although the failed roads affects their businesses and returns on their investments, government still make them to pay taxes and levies as road users and citizen which is not fair.
They all therefore called for urgent action from the federal government on the road to save them from losing their jobs, business and means of livelihood.
NAN reports that the road contract from Aba to Eleme in Port Harcourt was awarded to the tune of N6.3 billion in April 2018 as announced by Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.
However, the contract awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has since suffered rehabilitation setbacks resulting in extensive road failure and posed a danger to lives and businesses.
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