- calls for the reconstruction of Benin-Ekpoma road
By DADA AYOKHAI
Decrying the slow pace of reconstruction work on the Benin-Ekpoma- Abuja highway, a group of concerned Edo State citizens have staged a protest to ventilate their anger and compel relevant authorities to speed up work on the road which also serves as a major road artery connecting most of the communities in the axis
The group, under the aegis of Concerned Edo Citizens, a coalition of heavy-duty truck drivers across the Edo North district, , said the decision to embark on the protest arose out of the many failed promises made by top government officials in the past
The spokesperson for the group, Comrade Yaya Buhari explained the motive behind the protest.
He stated that as the “major users of the road, they are worried about the almost standstill state of work on the road given that the rainy season will soon set in”.
Buhari also recalled how they organized a similar protest last year to draw the attention of the federal government to the dilapidated state of the road stressing that appeals from the Auchi and the Uzairue royal monarchs made them rescind their stance after extracting promises from top officials of the Federal Ministry of Works that remedial work on the bad portions of the road would commence soon
Similarly, Prince Clem Agba, a former minister of state for budget and national planning, also from the Edo North district, in a bid to pacify the protesting truck drivers, was on record as having said that the federal government had allocated the sum of N75m for the reconstruction of the road
Specifically, they are demanding accelerated action on the repair and reconstruction of the failed portions of the road before the onset of the rainy season
The protesters, in their hundreds, blocked the entire section of the popular Jattu junction with their heavy-duty trucks, stretching from Okpella to Agbede.
The route serves as the gateway to motorists plying the Benin-Ekpoma-Abuja road
When our reporter visited the scene to obtain first-hand information, he noticed that the protest was largely peaceful. There was no reported case of molestation or casualty except for the valuable man-hours lost in the heavy traffic jam that ensued as motorists searched for alternative routes to get to their various destinations
The protest commenced on Monday, March 4, with the drivers blocking the popular Jattu junction, using their heavy-duty trucks to completely cordon off a significant portion of the expressway forcing other motorists to use the other available lane .
The Benin-Ekpoma-Abuja highway is one of the numerous trunk A federal roads traversing Edo State. Since it became impassable and all pleas for its rehabilitation fell on dead ears, especially during the last eight years of the Buhari administration, it became a sore point in the relationship between the federal government and the Edo State government.
As a demonstration of their resolve not to back down until their demands were met, the protesters stormed the venue with their cooking utensils, food items, drinks, canopies, and sleeping mats and even went as far as engaging the services of a disc jockey (DJ) to provide music and entertainment
Reconstruction work on the failed portions of the Benin-Ekpoma-Abuja road was awarded during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration but the road has since remained a nightmare for commuters and motorists
Comrade Adams Oshiomole, who represents the Edo North district in the Senate recently lamented about the dilapidated state of the road which incidentally serves as the major route to Auchi from Benin, before making a detour to his country home in Iyamho, Etsako West.
During the budget defense by ministers, Oshiomole vigorously decried the paltry sum of N200m voted for the reconstruction of the road in the 2024 budget, saying it was grossly inadequate in addressing the level of work needed to be carried out on the road
Borderline News 24 investigations reveal that the N200m set aside for the reconstruction of the road is yet to be released
