The government of Enugu approves funding for 1250 kilometers of roads

A total of 1,250 kilometers of state roads are scheduled for restoration, renovation, and expansion over the course of the upcoming year, according to the Enugu State Executive Council, which has approved funding for road repairs across the state.

The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Aka Eze Aka, briefed reporters shortly after the State Executive Council meeting held at the Government House in Enugu on Friday evening. He noted that the rains had caused a delay in road repairs and emphasized that the state government had planned to construct roads with a lifespan of up to 30 years.

Eze, who was accompanied by the commissioners for finance and economic development, dr. Nathaniel Uramah, works and infrastructure, engr. Gerald Otiji, and the attorney general and commissioner for justice, dr. Kingsley Udeh, apologized to the state’s residents for the suffering they were experiencing as a result of the state’s poor road conditions and urged them to exercise a little more patience as repair and reconstruction work was about to begin.

The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr Gerald Otiji, provided additional information on the Council’s decisions and reaffirmed that the first phase would include the rehabilitation of 71 urban roads and 10 rural roads. He also promised that the work will start in the coming days and weeks.

“Today, the Executive Council approved the flow of monies so that we could start working. We regret the difficulties Ndi Enugu is experiencing as a result of the potholes on our roadways. You will attest to the fact that the rains were still falling when we declared the 81 roads in need of repairs and rehabilitation.

“You should all be aware that water is asphalt’s deadliest enemy. To determine when to start working, we have been monitoring the situation with metrological tools.

“I also want to let you know that the governor is aware of the situation facing our people. He personally came along with us as we examined every street in the capital of Enugu that needed repair.

“We visited Trans Ekulu, Emene, Abakpa Market, Coal Camp, Idaw River, Achara Layout, Uwani, Kenyatta, Zik Avenue, Ogui Road, Premier Layout/Goshen area, the New Enugu neighborhood, New Heaven, and Independence Layout.

We have located the main bottlenecks in each of these regions, and we will start doing repairs and reconstruction in the coming days and weeks while rigorously adhering to the proper procedures. The majority of them will be repaired simultaneously, he said.

The Council, according to Engr Otiji, also authorized a number of critical rural and inter-local government roads chosen to ensure distribution among the state’s three senatorial zones. He added that more of these roads would be included in the budget for the next year.

He listed the roads as the Owo – Ubahu – Amankanu – Neke – Ikem road, planned as a dual carriageway to connect the Obollo Afor without passing through Enugu city, opening a different major traffic corridor to Abuja and the North Central market; dualization of the Abakpa Nike – Ugwuogo Nike – Opi road; the Amechi Idodo – Amagunze road, an

He added that the state government had discussions with the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, on how to speed up construction on the Enugu end of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. He also stated that the Abakaliki road from the airport flyover to the Ebonyi State border would also be dualized in collaboration with the federal government.

‘Operation Zero Pothole Tolerance’ in the Enugu city received funding approval from the Executive Council as well. We would want to reach every street due to the lack of funding, but we would most definitely do it gradually, he said.

Engr Otiji expressed his sympathy for the state’s residents’ suffering in response to the recent collapse of a bridge at the Enugu end of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway and expressed hope that immediate corrective measures were on the way.

“We are aware of the unspeakable suffering the collapsed bridge has inflicted on individuals and the severe damage it is doing to our roadways.

“We met with the Minister of Works in Abuja yesterday, and as of yesterday, the second bridge’s structural integrity was examined. Our goal is to make that bridge stronger so that we can reroute traffic through it, fix the collapsed portion, and then fix the second one. That continues.

“Only on Wednesday, one of our own, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji representing Nkanu East and West Federal Constituency raised a motion about it on the floor of the House of Representatives and instantly, the House passed a resolution for the minister to access the funds that he needs”, he claimed.

The Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Nathaniel Uramah, said that the government was dependent on increased internally produced revenues and that the road projects could not be funded by the meager accruals from federal allocations.

People have been wondering how to pay for road upgrades that cost billions of naira, the speaker remarked. Given the little resources we are receiving from the federation account, you can see that we are exerting a great deal of effort to enhance our internally generated earnings.

“By closing revenue collecting loopholes, we are raising our revenues. We no longer employ contractors to handle money collection.

For accountability, openness, transparency, and money traceability, we have also stopped making manual and cash payments to individuals and replaced them with an electronic ticketing system.

“In order to increase income production and be able to fund these initiatives, we implore the people to work with the Enugu State Board of Internal income. This administration intends to start large-scale initiatives that will use a lot of resources.

Therefore, we are pleading with the citizens of our state to assist the government with their meager contributions in order to ensure that our locally generated money is collected efficiently and that what is gathered will be used for the general welfare. Thus, Dr. Uramah explained, that is how these initiatives will be paid for.