By Correspondent in Okene/Lokoja
The deplorable condition of Okene-Auchi Highway has exposed travellers plying the road from across Nigeria to insecurity such as Kidnapping,armed to very among others, according to Mal.Abdulrazaq Muhammed, the Chairman, Okene Local Governnent Area of the neighbouring Kogi state to Edo State.
He stated this in Okene with the press while expressing concern over the hurrible nature of the road with an appeal to the federal government and its relevant agency in road rehabilitation, to do the needful to save travelers, particularly residents of Okene and its environs from the security challenges facing them while plying the road.
The council boss noted that the unfortunate condition of the road had exposed residents to terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and other criminals, who he added, had taken advantage of the bad road to unleash incessant attacks on peasant farmers and other innocent members of the public living along the road.
He stressed the need for the federal government and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to urgently come for the rescue of the commutters by speeding up efforts in completing the rehabilitation work on the road, to lesson their plights.
According to him, the lukewarm attitude of the Federal Ministry of Works and FERMA to the worsening condition of the trunk ‘A’ Road which links the north to the southern part of the country, remained a serious nightmare for travellers and even the residents and communities using the road.
He said he had written to the relevant authorities, intimating them of the worsening condition of the road, all to no positive response.
According to him,some hoodlums have found it easy to pounce on the stranded travellers and vulnerable communities along the road to unleash mayhem on them
“Most worrisome is that in the last two days, the grid lock created by the worsening condition of the road, has extended to Okene township, thereby blocking all the major access roads within the town” he stated.
In similar vein, rehabilitation work on the Ganaja road has again come to stand still, after the contractors resumed work, few days ago and put asphalt on one lane of the 200 unit-Tobi plaza axis of the road.
Our Correspondent who visited the road from Ganaja junction to Ganaja village, less than 10 kilometres journey on Friday, reports that no rehabilitation was seen on while contractors have moved their earth-moving equipment from the road.
Many residents of Ganaja village, who spoke to our correspondent on the road, expressed worry over the abysmally slow pace and poor rehabilitation of the road the work of which started November 2020.
Meanwhile,the Federal government has completed the rehabilitation of Felele High way in Lokoja,by adding bumps that slow down the speed of vehicles, especially the articulated ones, a development many pedestrians on the road said has reduced to barest minimum, ghastly accidents with the attendant loss of lives and property on the road.
