The herculean task and challenges of traveling to Abuja by commuters from the South-Eastern part of the country through the 9th Mile corner via Obollor Afor, a border town between Enugu and Benue states will become easier in the next two years.
This will be made possible by the federal government’s recent approval for the reconstruction of the Ogrute/ Umuida/Unadu/Akpanya/Odolu federal road in Igbo Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu and Kogi states, with Abuja as its terminal.
The reconstruction of this federal highway, which was abandoned for over five decades, is estimated to gulp a total of N12.9 billion from the federal government and expected to be completed within 24 months.
Architect Mike Oziegbe Onolememem, the Minister of Works, who visited Enugu last week to flag off the reconstruction of the road, described it as a route that will make traveling to Abuja, very easy for South-Easterners because it is a shorter distance, with less challenges.
He stressed that the present civilian administration in the country under President Goodluck Jonathan took the bull by the horns in the project, in view of its commitment to provide empowerment for rural communities in the country, through provision of enabling environment.
He emphasised that in addition to the fact that a lot of boundary communities within Kogi and Enugu states will be connected once again by the road, it will open a gateway for those communities, who are mostly agrarian, to find a means of evacuating their agricultural products to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and other towns.
He cautioned that the people must avoid acts that will effect damage to the road on completion like the burning of old tyres on top of tarmacs, in view of the fact that the cost of building or reconstructing such roads is enormous.
He reminded them of the pains they have gone through in the past five decades or thereabout, that the road was impassable.
The chairman senate committee on works, Senator Ayogu Eze, representing Enugu North senatorial district, who facilitated the realisation of the contract, corroborated the minister’s statement that the rehabilitation of the road will widen the scope of economic and commercial activities among the Enugu Ezike communities and their neighbours from Kogi State, in addition to shortening the long distance experienced by commuters from the South-East zone in shuttling to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and beyond.
Senator Eze extolled the present administration in the country under President Goodluck Jonathan for doing a lot in the area of infrastructural development of the South-East zone of the country, especially in road construction and rehabilitation, stating that the zone had never witnessed such transformation from previous administrations in the country.