Abia State Govt launches traffic lights in Aba amidst bad roads
Okoro Chima
Abia State Government has recently installed the first set of traffic lights in Aba, the commercial nerve of the state, this paper has learnt.
The facility which is located at Opobo Junction, Aba, was installed after the depreciation of the ones previously installed by the administration of Late Sam Mbakwe in 1980’s along Okigwe Road by Faulks Road, Azikiwe Road by East.
The installation of the traffic light is coming barely less than a year to the winding down of Governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu’s led administration.
It was observed that from Opobo Junction down to Waterside and beyond, motorists are always experiencing gridlock due to influx of people to the commercial city.
Aba, the commercial city of Abia State is believed to be one of the busiest cities in Nigeria. The city is not only blessed with business-inclined indigenes, but also intelligent people who can examine foreign goods (such as shoes, clothings, bags, etc) and produce them into local products popularly known as “Aba made”. This has made people from all walks of life to troop into Aba every day to patronise them.
It is said that Aba is the dirtiest city, while Abia is the only state in Nigeria with very bad road networks. In 2015 when Victor Okezie Ikpeazu was elected governor of the state, the people were said to have had high hopes that being an Ngwa man, he would change the ugly story of the commercial city. But to their greatest surprise, Aba is said to be worst than when Ikpeazu met it.
The popular Ngwa Road which leads to New Market (Ahia Ohuru), is at the moment, nothing to write home about and the people still wallow in the mud, hustling and doing other business activities.
To the glory of God, Ngwa Road is now wearing a new look following the intervention of the World Bank and the state government through World Bank Assisted Project.
Similarly, the popular Ariaria International Market where its roads had cut off the traders from accessing the market, is seriously begging for attention.
A close look at Faulks Road, the route which leads to Ariaria, shows that from Faulks Road by Okigwe Road to Ariaria International Market, there is no road thus making the people suffer the more, even as rain causes for such bad roads, and the worst hit city is Aba.
Furthermore, the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road which connects Akwa Ibom and Abia State cannot be forgotten in a hurry as the road has become a death trap where motorists plying the road spend days on the road due to its deplorable nature.
Some portion of the road which reconstruction work had commenced since November last year was still as it were, as of the time of filing this report.
However, the immediate past governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, reportedly said, while in office, that the poor road networks in the city could only be fixed by an Ngwa man.
Meanwhile, well meaning people of Abia State, especially those from Ngwa Land, have appealed to the governor to intervene on the deplorable state of roads in the state especially those in Aba, in order to ameliorate their sufferings.
