Excited residents cheer the governor and his entourage
The process of reviving Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, kicked off in earnest Wednesday with the handover of nine Road works to different contractors by the state Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR.
Led by the Special Adviser to the governor on Works, Engr Otumchere Oti, Gov Otti defied the afternoon showers as he toured the degenerated roads across the Aba metropolis.
Excited residents cheered the governor and his entourage, which included the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Emmanuel Emeruwa; his deputy, Rt Hon Augustine Meregini, and the Deputy Majority Leader, Hon Destiny Akaraka Nwagwu, at every stop as Dr. Otti observed the decadence that dotted long stretches of the roads earmarked for rehabilitation.
“We had promised that we are going to rebuild the roads. The first thing is that we clear the drainages, because if we don’t do that, we won’t be able to build roads that would last.
“As you can see on this Azikiwe Road, the main job here is to clear the drainages, desilt them and open up the flow of water to Aba River.
“There are a few roads we want to rebuild completely and those are the roads that we have come to handover to the contractors today,” Governor Otti told the ecstatic crowd.
Some of the roads that will receive immediate attention in order to “significantly reduce the sufferings of motorists within Aba” are, namely: University Road, Abayi, Green Avenue, Udeagbala Road, Shallom Road, Umuimo Road, Old Express Road, Abak Road with adjoining streets, Queens Street, and Jubilee Road.
The SA Works said more roads would be included in due course.
Meanwhile, desilting of drains has commenced along Azikiwe Road. This exercise, according to the SA Works, will continue along so many other roads to facilitate the free flow of storm water, and hence, reduce flooding on the roads.
