Residents lament refuse dumps, potholes on Owerri road Onitsha

Some residents of Onitsha in Anambra especially motorists plying the ever busy commercial Onitsha-Owerri road have lamented the poor state of the road. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday reports that there were several potholes on both lanes as residents converted some sections of the road to refuse dump site. NAN reports that refuse was seen deposited on both failed and normal portion of the Owerri road. Speaking to NAN in separate interviews, some residents said the poor state of the road had caused them untold hardship. They lamented that the road becomes worsened especially when it rains or if any articulated truck falls on the failed portion of the road. A commercial bus driver, Mr Emeka Orji, said that the poor state of Owerri-Onitsha road had negative impact on the transportation industry. “We in the transportation business are mostly affected with the current state of Owerri road. “If any heavy duty truck breaks down or falls off as a result of the potholes, we end up plying adjoining roads to cut off such area. “It’s worse when it rains as vehicles find it difficult to navigate their way off the failed portions of the road, ” he said. Orji  appealed to both Federal and state governments to come and intervene and immediately help to fix the failed portion of the road. A commercial tricycle operator, Ike Chibuike, also lamented that the potholes which are widespread on the Onitsha-Owerri road caused vehicular traffic for road users. According to him, this makes it difficult for buses to ply the road as many times as possible. On her part, Mrs Amaka Nwachukwu, a petty trader, frowned at the way and manner some residents, particularly traders dumped refuse on the road. She said that such act was capable of causing disease outbreak if not evacuated early. (NAN)