Abandoned Road Projects: Achina Community Calls For Government Intervention

People of Achina in Aguata Council Area have appealed to the State Government to prevail on the contractor handling the Achina-Oneh-Agbudu-Ogboji road to return to site to save the road from the threat of a major gully erosion.

The 7.6 kilometer road which cuts across 5 major agrarian communities in the area, was flagged off earlier in the life of the present administration in line with its continuity stance and has had its first tranche of mobilization cost paid by the Obiano administration.

However, a visit to the site reflected an abandoned project as there was no activity going on, with the drainage system covering about 2kilometer done initially almost lying on the road due to erosion.

Economic activities along the road which also leads to the ongoing Peter University Project of the Catholic Diocese of Awka was also in skeletal form as households and shops were totally inaccessible due to an impending gully arising from improper termination of flood water into a nearby Ezekoro stream.

For some residents along the road including Chief Godwin Mbachu and Mrs Celestina Ozugbo, if nothing is done urgently on the road before the next rain sets in, a major disaster may occur in the community as they do not have any other place to run to.

The Vice-president of Achina Town Union, Mr Henry Ezeuñara who is also the APGA Legal Adviser,Aguata Council Area, noted that some homesteads have already been cut off from the rest of their families and have to go through Oneh, Ogboji, Aguluezechukwu, Ekwulobia, Nkpologwu and Akpo to reconnect with their people and noted that construction of the road will give APGA firm root in the affected communities.

"For us as APGA people in this area, it is important that the government does this all important road.



We have seen many developmental milestones recorded by the Obiano government and all we want is to have something tangible that we can show our people as evidence so that when the time comes for campaign, no one will be in doubt as to the commitment of this government to the people's welfare".

The President General of the Town, Chief Chito Ezeani who expressed worry that the good gesture of Governor Willie Obiano in adopting the project is being cajoled by the contractor's inability to show seriousness towards the project and said when completed, the road will not only improve the face of infrastructure in the area but also give impetus to the Agric revolution initiative of the present administration by ensuring easy evacuation of farm produce from the agrarian communities.

According to him, " That this road is accessible today is due to the community's self help efforts through the Town Union.

Before the Christmas celebrations, I got the information that the contractor has been mobilized to site and I followed it up".

He continued " when I realized that no work can take place due to the busy nature of the road, I begged the contractor to do palliative on the road which he agreed to do.

But he never did that and the Town Union stood up to the challenge.

All we ask is for the government to impress the need on the contractor to expedite work on this road before the next rain because if that doesn't happen, I am afraid it will be difficult for us ".

Chief Ezeani further lauded the efforts of the Obiano administration in the area of grassroot development especially the 20 million naira choose-your-project initiative which the community has benefited from, and pointed out that the community is solidly behind him in his efforts to transform the state.

Also speaking, the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Godwin Obiora said if the present administration comes to their aid immediately and ensures the speedy completion of the road, it would have written its name in gold in the annals of the community's history.