Residents of Oba, in the Idemili South Local Government Area; Awada, Idemili North LGA; and Okpoko, Ogbaru LGA, of Anambra State, have lamented the deplorable condition of the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway and adjoining streets.
They said the situation had made residents prone to danger as many streets were overtaken by floodwater.
The people also said hoodlums extorted residents on the roads daily.
Our correspondent, who visited the area on Saturday, observed that the roads, especially the ever-busy expressway, were filled with water, while motorists and passersby struggled to avoid potholes.
This reporter also noted that the roadblocks mounted by some naval ratings on both lanes of the expressway at Enamel Junction, where they extorted money from commercial drivers, worsened the pain of road users.
A resident of Oba, Chika Udeh, lamented that the Amanator section of the road was covered with refuse and floodwater.
Udeh said, “We trek every day as we walk on the edge of drainage in order to avoid floods. Most bus operators have refused to go beyond the Amanator Junction. When they get to that place, they forcefully drop off their passengers and make a U-turn.
“Both the federal and the state governments have not looked at the area, including the local government. We are always at the mercy of hoodlums at night.”
A food vendor, who identified herself as Mama Joy, said commercial drivers and tricycle riders charged as much as N300 for a journey that was supposed to be N50 or N100 because of the bad condition of the roads.
A commercial bus operator, Ifeanyi Nonso said plying the roads was high risk.
He explained that bus fares were increased because of the huge sums drivers spent on vehicle maintenance and at naval checkpoints.
The Chairman, Awada Central Community Development Association, Chief Gabriel Nkasi, noted that the CDA had observed an increase in robberies on the bad portions of the expressway.
An official of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said contracts to rehabilitate most of the bad roads had been awarded but there was no fund to finance them because of the Second Niger Bridge, which was just opened.
