Socio economic activities along Benin- Sapele road were this morning crippled,  following protests by residents  over the deplorable condition of the road.
It was gathered  that the Entrance and Exit points  on the Benin-Sapele road have been blocked by the protesters resulting in severe traffic gridlock in the area.
Some motorists and residents who ply the road on daily basis have vowed to remain on the road until the road is fixed.
The Benin/Sapele road  which is a major  road linking the south to the eastern part of the country has been in a parlous state for a long time.
It will be recalled that last year,   it took the intervention of the Edo State  Governor , Mr. Godwin Obaseki to pacify  protesters, mainly youths  who occupied the road for days to register their displeasure over the harrowing experience commuters go through on a daily basis.
The youths had set up canopies, and giant tripod stands ,cooking , eating and dancing to music from a standby Disk jockey (DJ).
Following assurances from Mr., Godwin Obaseki, that the  road was going to get the needed attention with a promise to mobilize contractors to the site, protesters left the road.
True to the words of the governor, repair work immediately commenced the following day, with contractors moving in heavy duty equipment to the site and some palliative repairs carried out.
But the road which is a federal road now seems to have been abandoned; and with the commencement of the raining season, the road has returned to  or even worse than it’s previous state.
Raymond Eshebugan, one of the protesters who spoke to the press, said.
..” My name is Comrade Raymond Eshebugan, we’re tired. Last year we came out (November precisely), we protested, the governor came out, he addressed us, he accused the Federal government of playing politics with the road. The governor after 24hours  deployed contractors to this road. We applauded the governor for that .
“But four days along the line, the Controller, Federal Ministry of Works at Aduwawa  came with military men and police and stopped the contractors working on the road ,saying the road is a Federal government road, that the state governor had no right to construct the road or whatsoever.
That was November, behold this is August 1st and nothing has been done by the Federal Government
“But right now, the road is not motor able. If our kids are going to school in the morning, they spend two hours, three hours on the road, if they are coming back, they spend three hours as the case may be.
“Whenever it rains, just know that the day is useless for all of us residing here or plying the road.
“This road leads to other four Niger Delta roads . It has a lot of economic values to both the state and  the Federal government.
“If they are claiming that they are broke, they can give tax waiver to the oil companies.
“We have about six to seven oil companies here,; we have Seplat Energy, Summit, Pan-Ocean  and NPDC.
“The best gas in the world is from this place,  yet they are doing this to us despite the huge revenue the Federal government gets from here.
“We have resolved to be here until the Federal government does something. We do not want rehabilitation, we want standard road, if they want to bring RCC let them bring.  We want a standard road ,this road is due for expansion. ” He enthused.
Another protesters,who expressed his frustrations said, “All we are asking is for the road to be expanded. We have written several letters, yet nothing. Over 300  heavily loaded trucks ply this road on a daily basis.
“Its an eyesore.  This is a state that the Federal government is getting a lot from. What are we not saying? Federal government has actually neglected the road.
“The vehicular movement on this road is high. We have vehicle moving in and out of the Niger Delta states up to the East West road and even to the Bakassi Pennisula .
“We’re not asking for just road, we’re asking for durable roads with quality asphalt and bitumen of high quality,” he added.