Residents urge rehabilitation of Hatchery Road in Abakaliki

Residents urge rehabilitation of Hatchery Road in Abakaliki
Road
By Douglas Okoro
Abakaliki, Dec. 10, 2019 (NAN) Some residents of Odunukwe Street in Abakaliki have appealed to Ebonyi government to urgently rehabilitate the Hatchery Road to enhance socio-economic activities in the area.
A cross-section of the people, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki on Tuesday, decried the dilapidation of the road.
They expressed shock over government’s neglect of the road, adding that the poor condition of the road had made transportation difficult in the area.
They said that the situation was hampering human and vehicular movements and required urgent government’s attention.
Those who spoke on the situation, including Sunday Elom, Mike Onwe, Emeka Ogbonnia and Mrs Kate Arua, said that Odunukwe and the adjoining streets had been cut off from Abakaliki, the capital city, due to the dilapidation of the road.
They appealed to government to work on the road this dry season to ameliorate the sufferings of residents of the area and other road users.
According to them, the Hatchery Road is a quick link to the Ebonyi State House of Assembly; Nkaliki, the Headquarters of Abakaliki Local Government Area and the multi-million naira Ebonyi hatchery.
“The road was constructed by Dr Sam Egwu, the former governor of the state and was rehabilitated under former Gov. Martin Elechi.
“The road was hardly passable by motorists, tricycle operators, motorcyclists and pedestrians during the rainy season.
“Our appeal is that government should intervene now that the rainy season is over to make the road passable,” Elom said.
The people commended the Urban Renewal Programme of the present administration and advised the agency to also undertake the aesthetic beauty of the capital city.
Meanwhile, Chief Ali Odefa, the Senior Special Assistant to the Gov. Dave Umahi on Road Projects, said that government was committed to addressing infrastructure deficit through aggressive road rehabilitation in Abakaliki metropolis.
He said that a number of roads in the metropolis and other urban centres had been profiled for rehabilitation, reconstruction and maintenance.
“The urban and rural renewal programme is a continuous programme and state government will not rest until every dilapidated road in the urban areas is repaired, reconstructed and maintained to keep the beauty of the cities.
“Government will not abandon any township road that has failed and we are committed to fulfilling the administration’s campaign promise on road infrastructure development,” Odefa said. (NAN)
ODO/USO
(Edited by Sam Oditah)