BENIN CITY – Orhionmwon – The General Hospital, and Ago-Ogbeide roads in Abudu, Orhionmwon local government area of Edo state has become a source of worry to inhabitants and others using the routes to their farms and place of work.
The (now-abandoned) Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) building, local government education authority office and staff quarters as well as General Hospital Abudu are located along the hospital road.
A visit by The Nigerian Observer revealed that the road is not motorable as it can only be access by foot and motorcycle from the Benin-Asaba expressway, as those coming to and from the area manoeuvre their way through bushy parts and adjoining streets.
“it’s a very terrible thing. I usually pass through people’s compound. There’s a road we normally pass; that straight (general hospital) road is not passable”, Dr. Alimansuya Emmanuel, Medical Director of the General Hospital told our correspondent in a chat
According to the inhabitants, the General Hospital and Ago-Ogbeide roads are major routes that link the administrative headquarters to Iru and adjoining communities, and also for those farming in the area.
They appealed to Governor Godwin Obaseki to extend his planned rehabilitation of roads across the state, to further fastrack socio-economic development of the area.
“i am thirty something years now, I’ve been seeing this road like this; people do come, mark the road, pretend they want to do the road. At times they bring tractors, bring instruments, but unfortunately they do anything;
“we need the road because here is even faster for people going to Iru, Oghada, Igbanke, and other villages, than passing through the expressway at Owa. From here (Abudu) is like three minutes if the road is good. Our joy is for them to do this road, because by the time they do the road, it will bring a big change to our communities”, an indigene, Okpe Destiny told The Nigerian Observer at Ago-Ogbeide
Okpe, who spoke while loading sand into a waiting tipper by the bank of Orhionmwon river lamented that they find it difficult to access the roads especially during the rainy season.
Recall state government recently earmarked 91 roads for repairs and rehabilitation across the three senatorial districts, with none captured in Abudu or other parts of Orhionmwon.
But, the government stated that the project is being carried out in phases, that the list of more roads to be rehabilitated across the 18 local government areas of the state are being compiled.
