A non-governmental organization, Anioma Youth Network for Development (AYND) has called on Delta State Government to urgently save communities being ravaged by erosion in the state from further destruction and also fix roads that are fast becoming impassable as a result of poor drainage system.
In a statement issued by the National Coordinator of the group, Mr. Odita Sunday and the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Frank Oshanugor, the organization wondered why the government has continuously paid deaf ears to cries of communities in Delta State whose roads have become impassable in recent years.
According to them, such include Issele-Uku/Onicha Olona Road, Ogwashi-Uku/Kwale/Warri Road, Ubulu-Uku/Onicha-Ugbo Road,. Onicha-Ugbo/Idumuje Ugboko Road, Umunede/Ubulu-Uku Road, and many other roads in the state.
The group noted that the Ogwashi-Uku/Kwale/Warri Road which was abandoned by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration after construction work had been done in some parts, has continued to claim lives of innocent road users as a result of accidents in the failed portions of the road.
The AYND also noted that due to poor drainage system in parts of the State Capital city of Asaba, flooding during heavy rains has become inevitable.
“This is not supposed to be so, in a state where government is sensitive to its duties” it added.
As a grass-root organization, the AYND was worried that a good number of roads linking communities in Delta North Senatorial District were impassable especially during the rainy season as currently the case, adding that it was greatly appalling that Onicha-Ugbo/Idumuje-Ugboko Road which has always provided easy access for travelers to Abuja, was now a death trap.
The road has been further destroyed by heavy duty vehicles in recent time such that movement between the two communities is now a herculean task.
Vehicles get trapped and it becomes nightmare for a journey that would have ordinarily been less than ten minutes from Onicha-Ugbo to Idumuje-Ugboko or the other way round.
The group further stated that Ubulu-Uku/Onicha-Ugbo Road had also become impassable particularly from the Ubulu-Uku axis where residents of the Onicha-Ukwu and Onicha-Okpe quarters now live at the mercy of erosion while motorists no longer drive through.
The AYND noted that erosion had continued to devastate that road for years and in spite of several calls by Ubulu-Uku community drawing government’s attention to the deplorable state, nothing positive had been done.
As another election year is fast approaching, the NGO is worried that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa administration would want to make it a campaign issue again promising to fix the bad roads if given a second mandate.
“For how long would politicians take the electorate for granted” AYND asked.
The group has therefore urged youths of Anioma and indeed all Deltans to vote out any non-performing politician in future elections.
Send your news, press releases/articles to augustinenwadinamuo@yahoo.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @reportersinfo and on Facebook on facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526, 08053908817.
