SENATE URGES FG TO BEGIN REHABILITATION OF ONITSHA-ENUGU EXPRESS.

….Sets up C’ttee to ascertain the level of disrepair

The Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal government to commence the rehabilitation of Onitsha-Enugu dual carriage way to save commuters from further traumatic and tragic experiences they go through on daily basis.

The upper chamber also mandated its committee on works to ascertain the level of disrepair on the road with a view to make recommendations to senate.

These resolutions of the Senate followed a motion sponsored by Former governor of Ebonyi state, Senator Sam Egwu (Ebonyi North).

Senator Egwu had noted with great concern the dilapidated state and total collapse of the Onitsha – Enugu dual carriage way which he said have continued to pose a death trap to motorists.

He lamented that the road in question formerly takes a minimum of one hour to drive from Onitsha in Anambra state to Enugu the capital of old Eastern region but now takes over five tortuous hours to pass through.

Egwu also noted that the condition of the road has exposed many travelers to unprecedented hazards with many fallen victims of armed robbery attacks leading to loss of lives and property, adding that the collapse of the road has cut off the South Eastern states from other parts of the country with its attendant negative impact on trade and commerce.

The former governor noted that promises from past administrations to rehabilitate the road have yielded no result, recalling that efforts made by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to fix the road before the 2015 election failed since contractors to the road abandoned the site.

He further regretted that the collapse of the Onitsha- Enugu dual carriage way has led to a decline in agriculture and economic activities, adversely affecting the movement of agricultural produce and construction materials within and outside the state resulting to a slide in the overall economic output of the country.

Egwu noted that the life cycle of the road has expired and that heavy vehicular movement on the road coupled with years of neglect have accelerated the state of disrepair and collapse, adding that commuters passing through the road have resorted to using the old road which has also collapsed asking the rout inaccessible.

In their contributions to the motion, the Deputy president of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu and Senators from the South East geopolitical zone joined their voices with the sponsor of the motion in appealing to the Federal government to take a holistic rehabilitation of federal roads in the zone seriously to save the Igbos from being cut off from the rest of the country.