Bad roads: Abia monarch begs govt to end 30 years neglect of community

The traditional ruler of Amaiyi Okpo community in Ihechiowa, Arochukwu LGA of Abia State, Eze Michael Ifi Njoku Kalu, has cried out to the Abia State Government to come to end the 30 years neglect of the town by successive administrations.

Eze Njoku Kalu who was speaking on the terrible conditions of roads in his community, lamented that cars have disappeared from the village because indigenes could no longer come home or move within the community with their vehicles.

The traditional ruler who appealed to Governor Alex Otti to urgently remember the Okpo-Achara road in his ongoing infrastructure drive, regretted that

no administration had undertaken the road project for more than 30 years, a situation he said had forced residents to walk long distances to reach neighbouring communities.

The monarch who almost broke down in tears while speaking to journalists, said roads in his domain had broken beyond use, effectively cutting the his subjects off  from essential services.

“Government has never paid attention to the road project for over 30 years. We trek to Umuchiakuma Junction. There’s no car in the community because vehicles cannot enter the village,” he said.

Eze Njoku Kalu highlighted that, despite being a border community connecting Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, with a large voting population, Amaiyi Okpo remains neglected, lacking basic infrastructure and government presence.

“We are pleading with the government of Dr Alex Otti to come into the community and help us.

“The community has been trying to fix the internal roads to ease mobility, but there is little a community can do to repair a major road. We are in trouble,” he appealed.

Eze Kalu further lamented the absence of government-provided amenities in the community, stating that the few facilities available were provided through the efforts of indigenes.

Contributing, former chairman of Okpo Ihechiowa Development Union, OIDU, Cletus Torti Oleh, expressed concern over the community’s plight, noting that travelling to the area has become an arduous task.