Onitsha-Owerri Road Is Now A Death Trap - Hon. Agbodike Paschal Makes Case

Calling on the federal government during Tuesday's plenary, the lawmaker said that the dilapidated state of the Onitsha-Owerri Road has completely cut off the kilometer 8 + 100 in the Oba axis, thereby faltering human and vehicular movement in the area.

Leading the debate on his motion titled: Need to Rehabilitate the Depilated Portion of Onitsha-Owerri Road, Anambra State, Hon. Paschal Agbodike called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency come to their rescue to prevent more deaths and save the entire road from total collapse.

Hon. Pascal said "Onitsha-Owerri road is critical to the economic development of Anambra State and Nigeria as a whole as transportation of goods and services from the commercial city of Onitsha to other parts of the Anambra State and other States in the South East and South South are carried out on this road on a daily basis.

"The dilapidated state of the Onitsha-Owerri Road has completely cut off the kilometer 8 + 100 in the Oba axis, thereby halting human and vehicular movement in the area

"Since the failure of the portion at the Oba axis, there have been several accidents involving unsuspecting commuters whose vehicles have fallen into the deep gully in the road, resulting in the loss of lives and property

"Anambra State Government acted on emergency basis to stop the progression of the erosion, but the urgent intervention of the Federal Government is needed to prevent more deaths and save the entire road from total collapse

"Due to the deplorable state of the road which was bedeviled by gully erosion, socio- economic activities in the area have been greatly disrupted and are slowly grinding to a halt, causing huge revenue loss to Anambra State as well as the surrounding States and Nigeria as a whole.

"The road, which has become a death trap, is an existential threat to lives and needs urgent intervention to prevent further loss to the country as a wholeÔÇØ

Speaking further, the lawmaker pointed out that the menace of gully erosion in Anambra State is alarming with over 1,000 active erosion sites across the State and require urgent intervention.

Adopting the motion, the house resolved to:

(i) urge the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to move to the site of the collapsed Onitsha- Owerri Road and commence rehabilitation to prevent further loss of lives and property;

(ii) also urge the Federal Government to increase ecological funding to address the menace of erosion in Anambra State which has become a serious threat to the existence of the people;

(iii) again urge the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to commence repairs of the dilapidated Onitsha-Owerri road; and

(iv) mandate the Committees on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Ecological Funds and Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to ensure implementation.