By Ifeizu Joe
The Nigerian Senate has ordered the urgent rehabilitation of Onitsha-Ogbaru road linking Ndoni in Rivers State.
The order is following a MOTION PURSUANT TO ORDERS 41 AND 51 OF THE SENATE STANDING ORDERS, sponsored by the senator representing Anambra North senatorial zone, Senator Dr. Tony Nwoye.
Nwoye who presented the motion argued that the Onitsha–Iyiowa–Odekpe–Atani–Ogwuikpele–Ndoni Federal Highway is a strategic federal road linking the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones and was partially constructed in the late 1980s but has since suffered decades of neglect without any major rehabilitation;
He also noted that prolonged abandonment, ageing infrastructure, increasing traffic volume and the absence of routine maintenance have reduced the highway to a deplorable state, with extensive pavement failures, deep potholes and severe erosion, thereby constituting a serious danger to the lives and property of commuters and other road users.
He said: “The deteriorating condition of the highway has significantly increased travel time, such that a journey of approximately 70 kilometres from Onitsha to Ogbaru and Ndoni, which ordinarily takes about one hour, now takes nearly two hours, resulting in higher transportation costs, loss of productive man-hours and disruption of commercial activities;
“The failed sections of the highway frequently cause vehicles to break down and remain stranded for prolonged periods, thereby exposing commuters to road traffic accidents and heightened security risks.
“The highway serves a vital economic corridor with significant oil and gas exploration and production activities in the Ogbaru oil belt and, therefore, makes substantial contributions to Nigeria’s economy and national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“I’m worried that the continued neglect of this critical federal highway has adversely affected interstate commerce, agricultural value chains, regional integration and investment, thereby undermining the Federal Government’s commitment to economic development, national connectivity and safe transportation.
Accordingly, the Senate resolved to urge the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), or alternatively mandate South East Development Commission or Federal Ministry of Works, to immediately undertake emergency palliative repairs on the failed and unmotorable sections of the –Ogbaru–Ndoni-Rivers Federal Highway pending its comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction.
The Senate also urge the Federal Ministry of Works, as a matter of urgent national importance, to commence the immediate rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Ogbaru–Iyiowa–Odekpe–Atani–Ogwuikpele–Ndoni Federal Highway through a special intervention programme or any other appropriate funding arrangement, in view of its strategic importance as a major link between the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones.
It mandated the Senate Committee on Works to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the condition of the highway, engage relevant stakeholders, and report back to the Senate within four (4) weeks with appropriate recommendations.
It also further mandatef the Senate Committees on Works and Appropriations to ensure adequate budgetary provision for the comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Ogbaru–Iyiowa–Atani–Ogwuikpele– Ndoni-Rivers.
