Over 200 women from the Ntsuruakpa Izhia Community in the Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi State have staged a peaceful protest over incessant fatal accidents along the ever-busy Ezzamgbo axis of the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway.
The section of the road under rehabilitation by the federal government is said to have been abandoned by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), thereby forcing motorists to use the one lane that has been made accessible.
During the protest, the women blocked Senator Sam Egwu Flyover Ezzamgbo Junction, disrupting vehicular movement along the axis.
They expressed sadness over the slow pace of work on the road project execution, adding that the project, which commenced last year, has yet to be completed to allow the free flow of traffic along the axis.
One of the protesters, Mrs Blessing Okweshi, said that the project’s abandonment has continued to cause fatal accidents along the road, especially for those plying the route and residents of the area.
“The worst among the deadly accidents occurred on this road last Sunday, and it consumed the lives of a pregnant mother with her unborn baby and a man on the spot.
“The woman’s name is Chika Unah, a mother of three, and she was killed on the abandoned road by a lorry driver, who ran away without reporting to any police station till date since the accident occurred last Sunday.
“Many lives have been lost along this Ezzamgbo axis of the Abakaliki-Enugu highway, and you can see how potholes are dug on the roads, with heaps of laterite littered on the roads without road signs since 2024 till date.
“That’s why we massively come out to stage a peaceful protest, to condemn this ugly act because our people are tired of dying like fowls because of the slow pace of work on the execution of this road project.”
Other protesters, Mrs Helen Nweonwe and Obiageri Owoh, who also spoke to LEADERSHIP, expressed dismay over the road project’s abandonment and described the route as a death trap.
They maintained that the protest was to register their grievances to the general public.
Reacting to the development, the traditional ruler of the Ntsuruakpa Izhia community, HRH Eze Joseph Ozogbuo Okafor, blamed the contractor handling the road project and called for urgent action to avert a reoccurrence.
He called on the state and federal governments to intervene immediately to ensure the fast completion of the project.
Addressing the protesters, the chairman of Ohaukwu local government area, Prince Ikechukwu Odono, and the state commissioner for capital territory and urban development, Chief Sunday Inyima, assured the protesters that the contractor would be compelled to speed up the work without any further delay.
Meanwhile, when contacted, the controller of works, Ebonyi State, Engr. Akinyemi Ojo and the state commissioner for Works, Engr. Lebechi Mbam said that the project is not under their supervision and monitoring.
