Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF) has decried the death of eight persons crushed to death by a fallen trailer on the Ogoni stretch of the East-West Road, caused deplorable state of the road.

The Guardian notes that the road has remained in a very poor state, despite promises by the Federal Government to fix it. 

Reacting to the accident, the OYF President-General,  Legborsi Yamaabana, in a statement, yesterday, by the group’s Publicity Secretary, Lene Kingsley Lekue, blamed the Federal Government for the deaths. 

The president said the calamity could have been averted if the Federal Government had listened to the yearnings and protests by Ogoni youths to fix the road.

“The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing informed us that contractors would be mobilised to site within two weeks,” and wondered if government wanted to record deaths on the road before mobilising contractors.

“Could it be that the government wanted to spill blood first before performing their responsibility,” he asked. 

He called on government to expedite action and mobilise contractors to site before the end of October as promised, warning that failure to do so would be provocative and may compel the people of Ogoni to close down the road. 

The president expressed condolences to bereaved families and prayed God to give them the fortitude to bear the loss of their loved ones. 

He urged youths and others affected by the poor state of the road to maintain calm as plans were underway to proffer lasting solutions.