Hundreds of Igbo-Etche residents and commuters that transverse through the stretch of Eleme junction by Igbo-Etche road on a daily basis have raised concern over the deplorable state of the road.
Igbo-Etche is an agrarian community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State. The fast-growing community is noted for its rich agricultural yield but the poor state of its road has subjected residents and commuters to untold hardship.
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Igbo-Etche is sandwiched in between Oyigbo by east and bounded by the west to the popular Eleme junction in Obio Akpor Local Government Area.
The community’s many road outlets would have made it possible for commuters going to Oyigbo and Aba in Abia to traverse through it without going through the stress of being held up at the ever-busy Port Harcourt-Aba road but the deplorable state of the road has compounded their problem as motorists are held up on several bad portions of the road for hours.
Kidnappers and criminal elements have taken advantage of the situation to rob and terrorise commuters and hundreds of residents of the area.
There was a temporary relief earlier, when the state government awarded a contract for the reconstruction of Eleme junction by Igbo-Etche road.
But some portion of the road collapsed one year after the road was completed, forcing commuters and residents to call on the government to come to their aid.
Umoh Etukudoh said that he spent so much on servicing his car because of the poor state of the road.
“The poor state of the road is giving us a very big concern. Motorists are trapped on this road for several hours because of the collapsed portion of the road. The dilapidated road causes a lot of damage to our vehicles.
“The several road outlets in the community would have eased traffic flow on Port Harcourt-Aba road. Commuters transiting to Aba and Oyigbo wouldn’t have had any business going through Aba road if the road is in good shape. but the poor state of the road has made it very difficult,” he said.
He called on the government to fix the road and make it motorable again.
A resident of Ikwerre-Ngwo Etche who transits through the road everyday to Port Harcourt, Carl Ukpo, said that he passed through Igwurita to simply get to Port Harcourt.
“Going to Port Harcourt from Ikwerre-Ngwo where I reside with my family has become a very difficult task. Before now, to go to Port Harcourt from my base did not take more than 25 minutes but since the road collapsed it takes more than four hours to transverse through the bad portion of the road.
“I was spending as low as N400 to go to Port Harcourt and come back but now to go the same route cost me up to N1200 daily,” he said.
Another resident who pleaded anonymity said kidnappers and armed robbers have taken advantage of the poor state of the road to kidnap and rob residents and commuters.
He said that it was very difficult to access emergency rescue any time there is a crime incident because of the poor state of the road.
A resident of Igbo-Etche , Paul Nwajnoku said that farmers in the community are finding it very difficult to move their agricultural produce to Port Harcourt.
He called on Etche Local Government Council to complement the efforts of the State Government towards the reconstruction of the road.
