Residents Seek Govt’s Attention On Chokota-Ikwerrengwo-Umuebule Road

Road users and residents across Chokota, Ikwerrengwo and Umuebule Communities, all in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, have decried the deplorable condition of the road linking the three communities, appealing to the state government for immediate attention.
Speaking to The Tide at the weekend, at Umuebulu, a community leader, Donatus Nweke, regretted that despite several promises to rehabilitate the road, nothing visible had been done.
He appealed to the state government to urgently repair the road and alleviate the harsh economic hardship the bad road has subjected them to.
Nweke explained : “Umuebule has the largest population and in fact, half of Etche population with more than 75 oil wells, but we are very surprised that all the oil companies, federal and state governments and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), neglected us after several meetings and appeals to them. It is too bad”.
He said that the affected communities would not relent in appealing and bringing the attention of the state government to the bad state of the road until the state road maintenance agency was drafted to remediate the road.
One of the traders in the market, Uche Agbaoso, told The Tide: “because of the bad road, my business has been affected badly. I have two vehicles but I am not using anyone. Our customers are no more buying our goods because of the inaccessibility of the road, we are suffering and we need government intervention”.
Another road user in the area, Emma Udoh narrated an ugly incident he witnessed on the road sometime ago. He said: “I saw Okada rider carrying a pregnant woman recently and both of them fell into the pothole due to the bad road. The woman eventually lost the baby. We are calling on the government and all relevant agencies to help us fix the road”.