Tony Osauzo, Benin
The deplorable state of the Benin-Auchi road at Poultry Road junction and Mousco Junction in Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State left hundreds of articulated vehicles and other motorists stranded at Ekpoma axis of the busy highway on Monday.
The stretch of the stranded vehicles which started a little around Irrua junction at Ekpoma extended beyond the Ambrose Alli University (AAU) campus gate towards Irruekpen axis of the road.
A similar situation was experienced by commuters on that stretch of the road during the last rainy season when the road collapsed.
Consequently, motorists and particularly drivers of articulated vehicles spent as long as three days to navigate their ways out of the bad spots on that axis of the highway.
Though some palliative work was carried out on the bad section sometime late last year, it was observed that the rehabilitated area has started failing again with the commencement of this year’s rainy season.
Commenting on the bad condition of the road, two motorists, Messrs Nathaniel Egwaoje and Abdulah Yahaya, called for a permanent solution to end the perennial difficulty motorists have to endure on the route.
They called for the construction of drainage on both sides of that section of the highway.
‘Imagine having to spend as much time as we had even when the spot is yet to be as bad as it was last year,’ Yahaya said.
‘Government cannot just be wasting money all in the name of carrying out yearly palliative on the same problem without achieving success of it.
‘There is a need for drainage to take the water off that area to a channel somewhere around. Further palliative work without this is just a complete waste of fund and time.’
The Federal Controller of Works for Edo State, Mr Owen Oke, could not be reached for comment as he was said to have retired from service last week.
