Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly on Wednesday declared a state of emergency on all the federal roads in the state and other parts of the South-East.
The development followed a motion in which the member representing Nsukka East constituency, Hon. Chinedu Nwamba, raised the alarm over the dilapidated state of the concerned roads.
The motion urged the House to condemn the deplorable state of all federal roads in the zone.
Before resolving to declare a state of emergency on the roads, the lawmakers took turns to express reservations over the situation.
They demanded urgent action from the Federal Government on the matter.
Raising the alarm over the state of the roads while moving the motion, Nwamba said, “Residents in Enugu State and its environs for over a decade now are faced with myriads of problems as a result of the deplorable condition of federal roads there.
“It seems the state is forgotten in the areas of construction of new roads, rehabilitation and maintenance of federal roads.
“Incidentally, this ugly trend has persisted despite promises made by the successive Federal Government regimes on the said roads.
“Among the roads in the question, the Port-Harcourt-Enugu and Onitsha- Enugu highways are in the most pitiable condition.”
The lawmaker observed that the “Enugu to Onitsha road, which usually takes about 40 minutes in a journey when the road was in good condition, now takes three hours.”
“The road is so bad that almost every vehicle that plies it usually breaks down before completing a full journey.
“On the Enugu-Port-Harcourt highway the story is the same as the journey which normally lasts for two hours is now five hours,” he added.
The poor state of the concerned roads has undermined the economy of Enugu State and the entire South-East, the legislator lamented.
In addition to socio-economic challenges suffered by the zone as a result of the condition of the roads, lives and property are in constant risk on the roads, according to Nwamba.
He pointed out that several lives have been lost on the roads, which he described as ‘death traps.’
“The bad condition of those roads to the lives of Enugu inhabitants is enormous – undoubtedly, Enugu State is one of the economic hubs of the South Eastern States.
“The poor condition of those roads has indeed hampered both the economic, political and socio-cultural activities of the people.
“This is followed by countless records of accidents on those roads.
“There appears to be porous security on those roads since criminals use the opportunity of slow movement of vehicles to dispossess people of their valuables,” he added.
After deliberations, the House declared a state of emergency on all the federal highways in the state and its environs.
The lawmakers equally asked the Federal government, through the Federal Ministry of Works/Federal Road Maintenance Agency, to immediately commence the rehabilitation of the concerned roads.
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