Road infrastructure is one of the major critical infrastructure needed anywhere in the world for good neighbourliness, interconnectivity and the seamless transfer/sale of goods and services especially farm produce from the producing rural areas to the consuming urban areas.
However, most of the agrarian rural areas suffered enormous economic losses due to the absence of roads through which they could transport their farm produce and wares to the urban communities for sale. The farm produce eventually gets spoilt as they alone cannot consume all they harvest.
This situation was the crux of the presentation by women in several communities to the Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly and the PDP standard bearer for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency at the February 25th polls, Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji MNSE while he was honouring invitations to the women’s August meeting last year.
Moved by their plight, the Speaker promised to do all within his power to change the situation by creating new roads and grading existing ones already taken over and covered by thick bushes and trees, and the ones washed away by heavy floods over time.
In his usual characteristic of keeping to his promise, Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji rolled out the caterpillars and bulldozers to commence work on the 10th of December, 2022 so the affected communities in Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency could be opened up for seamless movements during the yuletide and beyond, and also more importantly, to boost their economic activities and bring prosperity to the people.
Since then, the Speaker has created 14 new roads and graded existing but grossly dilapidated ones. Some of the communities had several of such roads opened up for them as the roads were linked to each other.
The following are some of the road projects embarked upon by Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji:
1. Umule link road
2. Ekeokwuru-Amaogwugwu link road
3. Ekeokwuru-Nkata Nkwoegwu road
4. Amaogwugwu Internal road
5. Michael Okpara internal road, Ofeme
6. Isingwu-Mbato Road, Ofeme
7. Iyita Umuochi internal road, Okaiuga Nkwoegwu
8. Ochie Uhu Umuochi internal road, Okaiuga Nkwoegwu
9. Nkata-Umuokorie internal road, Okaiuga Nkwoegwu
10. Ochie Ogbururuaja internal road, Okaiuga Nkwoegwu
11. Umuokorie Umunemeze internal road, Okaiuga Nkwoegwu
12. Umunwanwa community road, Umuahia South
13. Umuekwule Afugiri – Umuokehi Okpuala link road
14. Umuhu Ajata Ibeku
15. Ajata Okwuru Ibeku
Apart from the above, there are other road projects which the Speaker has embarked upon in recent years. They are:
i. Afaraukwu Road
ii. Amuzukwu Internal roads
iii. Amuzukwu Umuokoo Road
iv. Umueze Road
v. Ugba Road
vi. Amuzukwu to Umuezeagwu Road
vii. Umuezearota Road, and,
viii. Umuwaya Mbaraukwu link road.
This development has thrilled leaders and people of the benefitting communities as they have continued to express their gratitude to Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji for bringing succour to their land and expressed strong confidence that the Speaker being a man of his word will do more for the people once he is elected into the Federal House of Representatives.
They therefore unanimously pledged their support and votes for him at the forthcoming general elections.
