In pursuit of the fulfilment of his campaign promises, Senator Monday Okpebholo has appealed to the federal government to declare a state of emergency on roads in Edo Central senatorial district.
The lawmaker, who represents the people of Esanland in the 10th Senate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said his call is to prevent among others, the outbreak of epidemic in the state.
In a statement he made available to journalists yesterday, Okpebholo said animals and perishable goods being conveyed in vehicles sometimes die or get spoiled in transit and thrown into the communities by commuters thereby causing health hazards to his constituents.
The senator made particular references to the Okene-Auchi-Ekpoma-Benin Highway and the Ewu-Uromi-Agbor Expressway where vehicles get stuck for days over the deplorable condition of roads.
He said, “There is also the bigger fear of outbreak of epidemic. Animals being conveyed in most of the articulated trucks often get trapped for many days in the gridlock and thereafter die in transit. These dead animals get thrown into the communities along the highways. This is in addition to the perishable goods stuck in vehicles in the gridlocks.”
Okpebholo said the hardships experienced on the roads were severe and tough on the people and on the economy of the area, adding that Edo central is the gateway to South East, South-South, South-West and the northern part of the country.
Senator Okpebholo said the deplorable condition of the major federal highways passing through the communities in his constituency, had forced motorists to divert their vehicles into the internal roads thereby causing many of the roads in his senatorial district to fail.
In the statement he signed, the lawmaker said, “The senatorial district is gateway to the South East, South-South, South-West and the Northern part of the country.
“The deplorable condition of these highways had forced motorists to revert to the internal roads of the communities in Ewu, Irrua, Uromi, Ubiaja, Igueben, Ogwa, Ekpoma and others. The pressure from the heavy traffic has destroyed all the existing internal roads.
“Business activities in the senatorial district are also highly impacted upon very negatively because of these bad roads. A journey that ordinarily takes one hour now takes several days.My people are in pain and want the Federal Government to intervene and come to their rescue,” he declared.
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