Motorists, Commuters Hail Rehabitation Of Enugu-PH-Onitsha Road

Motorists and commuters in Enugu State have commended the Federal Government for rehabilitating the Enugu-Port Harcourt and Enugu-Onitsha Expressways for the yuletide.

In an interview with newsmen in Enugu on Monday, a taxi driver, Mr Jude Achi, said the repairs done on the roads did not only ease the traffic, but also saved their vehicles from frequent damage on the roads.

“I am happy that government was able to repair the roads because I know how much I spend on a daily basis to repair my car each time I ply the routes,’’ he said. A civil servant, Mr Ephraim Ogu, who travelled on Enugu-Port Harcourt route to Abia State, said he was shocked to see that the road was repaired.

Ogu said lack of maintenance was responsible for the deplorable condition of roads in the country.

Mrs Ebele Ajiri, a commuter, who also expressed appreciation on the gesture, urged the federal government to award road contracts in the South East to capable contractors.  “When you look at the Enugu-Umuahia route, you see that the contractor that handled Enugu to Okigwe did a better job than the one that handled Okigwe-Umuahia axis,’’ she said. Reacting to the development, the Federal Controller, South East of the Federal Ministry of Works, Mr. Joe Onyejekwe, said the contractors were on ground to ensure that the roads were rehabilitated for the festive season.

According to him, all the equipment for the job were already off the road by Dec.17, as against Dec. 20, deadline given to them by the federal government. Onyejekwe said that the reconstruction of the roads would begin early next year adding that budget for the jobs had been approved by the National Assembly.