Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has flagged-off the 30 km Arochukwu-Ndi Okereke- Ozu Abam Road, with a pledge that no part of the state will be left behind in road infrastructural development.
He said that the essence of fixing rural roads was to connect agricultural roads to the urban areas in order to boost the States agricultural zones and connect them to the urban areas. This, the governor said, was part of the plan by his administration to boost the States agricultural output and expand economic corridors. The immediate gains of such steps will be to create jobs for the youths and stem rural urban migration.
He said, Farmers in rural communities find it difficult to move their produce to the markets leading to post harvest losses. As a government that made a covenant to bring succour to the people after many years of frustrations, we knew that road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance must be made a major priority long before we took our oath of office.”
Governor Otti said the Arochukwu-Ndi Okereke-Ozu Abam road will be completed in about 12 months. Once completed, he assured the people, it will “revive the agricultural and allied ecosystem within several communities in Arochukwu and Ohafia LGAs and open an expanded window” for investors coming to take advantage of the new opportunities in the state.
Now, the construction of the road is not done in isolation. He said that his government took a deliberate step to fix the road along with the Umuahia- Uzuakoli-Abiriba-Ohafia road, as part of a strategic initiative to guarantee that a stretch of road from the axis is in such a good condition to ease the movement of people and goods from the northern part of the state to the urban centres.
He used the opportunity to appeal to Abians to always pay their taxes. He also informed them that discussion was on with the Federal Government to ensure that work resumes on the Umuahia-Bende-Ohafia-Arochukwu federal road.
Speaking, the Member representing Arochukwu State Constituency, Uchenna Okoro, the Mayor of Arochukwu LGA, Joe Ezearu; Chairman, Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Linus Nto Mbah, and Eze Aro, Eze Eberechukwu Oji narrated how their people had suffered over the neglect of the road for a long period and thanked the governor for coming to their rescue.
