Aba, Abia State, known for its high revenue generating profile, its commerce and small businesses, is also just as notorious for its horrible infrastructure. Its two federal constituencies, Aba North and South, host major industries and markets, Ariaria International Market, perhaps the most popular. But its roads are impassable. Other facilities are few and far between, leaving the people in pretty bad humour.
A resident of Ngwa Road in Aba South Local Government Area, Mr. Godwin Onyeka described their situation as unfortunate, stressing that apart from food they eat, “life at Ngwa Road could best be compared with life at various IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps across the country”.
Apart from making life miserable for the inhabitants of the two local governments especially while trying to access the city centre, the impassiable nature of Aba South, Obohia, Ohanku, Umuogele and other parts of Ngwa road has contributed to the high level of crime in the area.
This has also adversely the response of security agencies to crime in the area. Even the fire servive struggles when responding to emergences in the Aba, no thanks to the worful roads.
A trip to some of these areas during the rainy season would make one shed tears as residents whose shops and offices are within the city centre are subjected to all manner of stress on a daily basis because of the deplorable nature of their road.
It was gathered that some of the Aba South residents especially those living at Ohanku, Obohia and amongst others pay thrice of the normal transportation fare to get to their homes while those at Nkwo Ngwa or Umuogele have to pay able bodied men to ferry them through the flood or stagnant water or risked being carried away by the flood.
Recounting a 2015 experience during a heavy downpour that left many family homeless with property being swept away in the flood, Mr. Kingsley noted that they are still suffering the effect of the loss till date.
Worried by the situation facing his constituents, the lawmaker representing Aba North and South Federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ossy Prestige has acquired a grader and since moved into the affected areas to begin massive grading of internal and bypass roads across the constituency.
Some of the streets and roads graded in Aba North Local Government area until the time of this report are Garden Avenue off Okigwe road, Uzonkpa/Umuobu, Railway/Salad Market avenue, Cemetery, St. Eugene, Anya Umunna off PZ, Osusu, Chibuike streets, Samuel Njoku and Imo Avenue, among other locations where work is ongoing.
Joyous residents of Aba North including Samuel Njoku, Osusu, St. Eugene inhabitants who spoke to newsmen could not hide their joy.
They recounted how for over a year they have resorted to using public transportation, leaving behind their luxury cars because of the impassable terrain of their residences due to the neglect from both state and local governments, even as they said that they have been paying their taxes and other levies from the state and local government authorities respectively.
One of the residents who simply gave his name as Ifeanyi blamed past governments in the state and representatives of the Aba North and South at the Green Chamber of National Assembly for their woes, stressing that apart from Orji Kalu’s administration that tried asphalting and grading some of the internal roads in the area, subsequent government administrations were concerned with collection of revenue and failed to engage on infrastructural development project in the last eight years, living them to groans in penury.
Ifeanyi and others who spoke thanked Prestige for remembering them and urged him to extend such gestures to other parts of the constituency.
They hoped that the efforts of the Abia lawmaker will go a long way in complimenting the efforts of the incumbent Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration in alleviating the sufferings of road users in the commercial town.
In an interview, the lawmaker said that after a need assessment survey, he discovered that a lot of his constituents find it difficult to access the city center due to the impassible nature of their roads, stressing that in order to alleviate their sufferings ahead of the rainy season; he decided to embark on the project.
Prestige who told reporters that he would have loved to asphalt the roads after the rehabilitation sighted paucity of funds as a barrier because he was using his personal money to fund the ongoing rehabilitation exercise, but added that Garden Avenue off Okigwe road, a 7.5km road project which he attracted through the federal government intervention funds would be asphalted with a good drainage system to channel water to the appropriate water channel.
He used the opportunity to solicit his constituents’ continued prayers and assured that he old never relent in his efforts in making sure that he keep using his personal or government funds to improve their lives and attract government presence within his tenure as Aba h and South legislature.
He said, “Aba must be fixed. In the next couple of days, I shall be bringing an investor from Korea who will come to partner shoemakers in Aba. Mr. Jacky Zhang will be coming to inspect what the shoe makers are doing in Aba, see how is going to help them improve technologically and as well, take their wares to the global scene for marketing and attracting investors with like minds.”
