The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has commended the House of Representatives members representing Edo State for supporting the demand to the federal government to quickly commence repairs of dilapidated federal roads in the State. This move will help to ease the suffering of the people and enhance economic activities in the State.
The House of Representatives expressed great concern about the deplorable condition of federal roads in Edo State and the entire country. In response, they have urged various federal government agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Works, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to promptly develop a plan for the reconstruction of these failed roads.
The resolutions were made as a result of a motion titled ‘Need for the Reconstruction of the Federal Highways in Edo State‘, which was moved by Edo representatives during a National Assembly session. The representatives who moved the motion are Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, Marcus Onobun, Chief Billy Osawaru, Dekeri Sunday, and five other lawmakers.
The lawmakers highlighted that Edo State acts as a transit point for travellers, connected to the East through Ewu/Uronigbe/Agbor/Asaba Roads, the West via Uzebba_Ifon/Ofosu/Okada/Ovia roads, and the North via Auchi/Ekpoma/Benin and Afuze/Sabongidda Ora/Sobe roads. They noted that the State is facing a serious risk of being cut off from the rest of the country, which would cause severe hardship for the residents.
The lawmakers called on Obaseki to address the poor condition of federal roads across the State and its impact on the State’s economy.
Obaseki expressed his disappointment with the failed Federal Government’s lack of response to his repeated calls for the roads to be fixed.
According to him, “We commend our representatives at the National Assembly for the call to the federal government to immediately commence the repair of dilapidated federal roads in Edo State, lending their voice to the several calls we have made in the past on the poor condition of the roads and the need to pay urgent attention to these roads to ameliorate the sufferings of motorists and other road users, without eliciting any positive response.
“We are proud of the action of these our illustrious sons at the House of Representatives which has further solidified their commitment to the welfare of the people of Edo State, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Edo State Government in improving the quality of life of our people.”
Obaseki further noted, “While we have begun efforts to carry out palliative work on a few of the federal roads like the Benin-Sapele Road and Benin-Agbor Road, we urge the federal government to seize the golden opportunity presented by this call to immediately initiate the repairs of all their failed roads in Edo State to ameliorate the sufferings of motorists and our people on the roads.
“We also call on all Edo people at home and in the Diaspora as well as Nigerians to join their voices in calling on the federal government to live up to its responsibility and fix these roads, which is part of the reason they are entitled to over 52 per cent of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts monthly.”
