As the perennial flood occasioned by the rainy season worsens the Calabar – Itu Highway, forcing contractors to abandon the road work, the lawmaker representing Ibiono Ibom in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Moses Essien, has blamed the federal government’s lack of political will to fix the strategic road.
Essien, who undertook oversight duties to inspect the failed portions of the road at his Ibiono Ibom LGA axis at the weekend, expressed worry as motorists and passengers, who had been stranded for days, lamented amid tales of woe.
However, the lawmaker, while expressing concern over their plights, blamed the contractors including the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) for the slow pace of work, and called for federal government’s commitment.
At the Ikot Ebom portion of the road, where commuters and motorists spend days in long queues stretching several kilometres on both sides of the dual carriageway, the lawmaker noted the man hours and material resources wasted as inter-state businesses between the two sister states remain in limbo for months.
He noted that the deplorable condition of the road has isolated Akwa Ibom and Cross River. He stressed the urgent need for the federal government to provide adequate funding for the project, as a motivation for the contractors to expedite action.
Essien, who emphasised the strategic importance of the road in facilitating economic growth, promoting unity, and ensuring the safety of commuters and motorists within the South-South, Southeast and other parts of the country, said, “As the member representing the people of Ibiono Ibom State constituency, and as one who has been using this road frequently, I have to come here to see things for myself.
“From what I have seen and as you can see, the road has become impassable, and the people of my constituency and other users are suffering, and I want to seize this opportunity to call on the federal government and President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene, and ensure adequate and proper funding for the construction of this important road which links the South-South and the Southeast regions, and other parts of the country.
“You can only imagine what the people are suffering on this road, sleeping days on the road without getting to their destinations. The people cannot access Cross River State from here, neither can they access Akwa Ibom State, and you know the importance of this road to this region and the country as a whole.”
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