The New Experience Newspapers Online News Indepth, Analysis and More
A member representing Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Rev. Francis Ejiroghene Waive, has called on the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to fix all federal roads in Delta State.
The cleric-turned-politician decried the deplorable state of the roads, declaring them as impassible.
Waive, who is the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Power, particularly lamented the failed portion of the Adeje section of the Warri/Effurun-Benin Highway in Okpe Local Area of Delta State.
The Reps member, in a statement on Friday, stated that the Adeje axis in the Sapele-Effurun section of the road was in a critical state, considering the fact that the road links the south-south region to the other parts of the country.
Hon. Waive, while charging FERMA authorities to declare a state of emergency on major federal roads for repairs and maintenance, expressed concerns over agonising moments motorist and commuters plying these roads go through daily, which has resulted in too many avoidable deaths.
The terrible state of the road has resulted to untimely deaths of innocent Nigerians and foreigners through avoidable accidents and also resulted in poor productivity of workers as immeasurable man-hours are lost in traffic on a daily basis.
“The navigation on the Warri-Benin Expressway during rainy season becomes more terrible as vehicles breakdown, heavy-duty trucks overturn or get stuck in the mud while motorists disembark at very terrible sections of the roads to push rickety and articulated vehicles thereby causing traffic gridlock on the roads.
As a result of the horrible portions hindering the free-flow of traffic along the busy Warri-Sapele axis of the Benin-Warri dual carriage express road, touts have begun to extort money from motorists.
The hoodlums , The New Experience Newspaper gathered, stationed themselves at a spot on Adejeh road which serves as an alternative route for motorists coming to and from Benin to Warri.
A driver with a popular national daily identified as Mr Saliu told The New Experience Newspaper on Friday that he had a rough time with the hoodlums when he took the alternative route while on his way from Benin.
“They forcefully stopped me early this morning and harassed me, insisting I must part with N1,000 before I could be given access to continuing my journey to Warri.
“All my please fell flat before the ‘high in drugs’ guys and I was forcefully extorted of N1,000 after they threatened to beat me up,” the driver disclosed.
Waive stated also that the situation was giving rise to “armed hoodlums who are capitalizing on the state of the Warri- Benin expressway road to rob and maim helplesss travellers at the bad spots, as they are aware that motorists would need to slow down to navigate the dreadful portion of the road.”