Motorists Suffer as Group Blocks Enugu-Onitsha Expressway over Bad Road, Death Toll

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A group called Recover Nigeria Project (RNP) on Wednesday blocked the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, causing chaos and hardship among motorists in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

The closure of the road which lasted for one hour saw hundreds of vehicles, including articulated ones, politicians' convoys and other road users trapped.

The leader of the group, Mr. Osita Obi said the group decided to embark on the protest in order to bring to the knowledge of the government the plight of road users because of the bad spot.

He said: "This is just a small portion, which will not take 50 bags of cement, some stones and workers to fix, but it has remained this way for years, and uncountable number of people have lost their lives on this spot.

"The governor uses this road; senators and other top politicians from Anambra State and beyond all use this road, yet they pretend not to see this dangerous spot. Just yesterday, I was almost hit by an articulated vehicle here, and several accidents have happened here within the week. We cannot continue to fold our hands and do nothing."

Obi charged the state and federal governments to immediately commence work on the failed portion of the road, saying failure to heed the plea will lead him and his group to return for a bigger protest.

Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University chapter, Steve Ubaro, who also mobilised his members to the protest, said a professor of the university was last week involved in an accident on the spot while returning from work.

Also, the leader of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Okolie Ikechukwu, told journalists that a student who also drives a shuttle bus was recently involved in an accident on the spot, causing him to lose an ear.

Ikechukwu said within the week, no fewer than five accidents have been witnessed on the road, and because it was a regular route for students of the university, NANS decided to join in the protest.

However, the state Commissioner for Transport, Uchenna Okafor, who addressed the group on behalf of the state governor, insisted that the road is a federal road, but promised to take their demands to the governor for immediate action.

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