Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has officially flagged off the reconstruction of the 67 Kilometer Umuahia-Uzuakoli- Abiriba- Ohafia Road, with a pledge to address the longstanding infrastructure deficit in the state and rehabilitate key road networks.
The road which serves as a vital link to Abia North Senatorial District, has suffered from long years of neglect, causing significant hardship for both farmers and commuters who struggle to access various locations due to the poor state of the road.
The road project which is divided into three sections, would be handled by different contractors with Cranberg assigned to the Umuahia-Uzuakoli stretch, Ferotex to the Uzuakoli-Isukwato Akara Junction, and CCECC tasked with handling the Akara Junction-Ohafia axis.
Speaking while flagging off the three sections of the road project, Governor Otti described the occasion as part of his campaign to fix Abia and end her years of infrastructural decay.
The Governor explained that the selection of three contractors to handle the the different sections of the roads is to enable the state government complete the project on time as his administration is in a hurry to recover lost ground.
He noted that his government aims to build accessible roads to facilitate transportation for businesses across every corner of the state, enable merchants to transport their goods from remote areas to urban centers and encouraged leaders residing within and outside the state to return to their villages, invest time and resources, and invigorate rural economies to foster prosperity and enhance the overall quality of life for the people.
“We want our people to move on roads that motorable. We want people who are doing business in all the nooks and crannies of Abia to be able to evacuate their products and come to the townships to sell them.
“We want all our leaders to feel free, those who live in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Aba and all parts of the state to feel free to come back to their villages spend time, spend money and stimulate the economy in the villages so that our people will also have a good life that is how economy moves“, the Governor said.
While noting that his administration is focused in serving the people, Governor Otti assured that Abia would maintain its position as first as well as witness massive development adding that “it is the beginning of good things in the state“.
The Governor noted that despite the economic realities of the day occasioned by petrol subsidy removal, which is making it difficult for government to achieve the desired aim, his administration is unrelenting in keeping to her promise of delivering democracy dividends to the people.
Governor Otti who revealed that he would be on hand to monitor the progress of work in addition to Engineers from the state Ministry of Works, warned that the state government would not tolerate low quality job.
The Governor however expressed optimism that the contractors would deliver the road project according to specification and in record time, thanked Abians for the support given to the state government and challenged them to sustain their support through payment of their taxes to enjoy more democracy dividends.
The Commissioner for Works,Mr Otumchere Oti, in his address, said the road is to be rehabilitated into a two lane asphaltic concrete carriage way with 1.5 meter wide asphaltic concrete shoulders among others and lauded the governor for his commitment to ensuring that all nooks and crannies of the state feels the impact of government especially in the provision of road networks
He added that the contract includes construction of culverts and drainages as well as provision of street lights and encouraged the communities to cooperate with the contractors to enable them deliver the job on schedule.
In their separate remarks, the Mayor Umuahia North LGA, Chief Victor Ikeji Isukwato Mayor, Air Vice Marshall Young Onyeike, and their Ohafia Counterpart,Chief David Ogba Onuoha while thanking the Governor for not relenting in emancipating Abia people, commended him for transforming the state into a construction site in less than one year of his administration and making the state a model for other states to copy.
