Ohanaeze Ndigbo laments poor state of South East roads

• State govs move to partner individuals on repair
The Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has said economic development of the South East region has been negatively affected by the deplorable state of federal roads in the zone.

The group said movement in the zone and other parts of the country may be hampered if federal highways in the area did not get urgent attention soon.
A source in the group however said state governors in the zone are making plans to partner prominent individuals in the region on providing funds to repair some federal roads in the area.

The source explained: “Already talks have been opened with some of these prominent individuals and it is believed that something positive will be achieved in the end. Because as it is now every part of the South East is feeling the impact of the deplorable state of our roads.”

The source told The Guardian yesterday: “I think they (governors) are planning a meeting soon. South East is theirs and the people of the zone are looking at them to provide leadership. It is necessary they take the lead to ameliorate the suffering of the people of the zone. Whether we like it or not, about 90 per cent of those who ply these roads from Port Harcourt to Aba, to Enugu, Abakaliki, Onitsha and Owerri are Igbos and I think it is wise that we don’t continue to keep quite.”

Ohanaeze Ndigbo said products worth billions of naira which would have led to economic growth of states in the region were lost to road accidents involving vehicles conveying them.

“It is difficult to connect any of the south-east states capitals with one another. This bad state of federal roads has become so embarrassing that Ohanaeze begins to wonder why. We call on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on federal roads in the south. There is no geo-political zone in this country that has such a sorry state of roads.”