Otti flags off Umuahia six-lane road expansion project

*Promises to extend project to Onuimo

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

Construction of the 3 .5 kilometres Ossah-Okpara Square road leading into Umuahia, the Abia State capital, was, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 flagged off. The construction work would see the road expanded from four to six lanes, the first of its kind in the state.

Performing the flag-off ceremony at popular Okpara Square intersection, the state governor, Dr. Alex Otti, said commencement of work on the road was delayed because his administration did not want to inflict injury and discomfort on the people which was why the government accepted to pay full compensation before mobilizing the contract, Cranebourg Construction company to site.

As soon as government hinted of embarking on the project, the host communities of Ibeku and Ohuhu clans began to agitate for full payment of compensation and be given time to exhume and rebury their loved ones. Initially, government wanted to kick-off the project early July, promising to pay compensations in tranches.

However, the communities insisted on full payment of compensation and be allowed time to relocate. Government suspended their plan and yielded to the 100 per cent compensation payment before commencement of work.

Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Mr Chaka Chukwumerije, who embarked on series of sensitization and engagements with the communities, revealed that payment of compensation for the 130 structures to be demolished for the six-lane project commenced last Friday.

“We didn’t want to do it by force,” Otti told the excited crowd who trooped out to witness the flag off ceremony. The money for the payment of compensation is ready and the owners of the 130 building that were affected have started receiving their monies, while those who have not received their own, may be as a result of some bureaucratic hitches, will get theirs soon,” the Governor said.

“We believed we should not inflict injury and discomfort on our people. We believed that we should pay before starting off and we have done that,” the Governor emphasized. He assured that the contractor would quality work, given its competence.

The Governor announced that government was planning to also expand the road from Abia Express Tower to Onuimo, its border with Imo State, through Umuopara to a six-lane road. He said before the completion of the Ossah-Okpara Square road, government would have concluded consultations with stakeholders and contract for the extension of the six-lane expansion project to Onuimo would be awarded.

“The idea is when you enter into Abia, you know you have entered Abia State,” the Governor explained.

Narrating how the Ossah-Okpara Square road six-lane expansion project came to be, the Governor said it was mired in controversy.

“It has been difficult getting to this stage of the flag off of this road. We had to settle all issues that came right from the conception of this project before we came to flag off.

“When we conceptualized the this project, there was several arguments,” he said, adding that some argued that doing the project would be impossible because of its cost implications as a result of the buildings that were to be demolished. Others, he said, proposed that government should a virgin road that would equally lead into the town.

He said after weighing all arguments for and against, government abandoned the virgin road alternative and opted for the Ossah – Okpara Square road because it was the known entrance into the state capital.

Otti said that initially, 103 buildings were to be demolished, but it later increased to 130 buildings and government brought in valuers to assess the structures and reached agreement with the communities and owners of the buildings affected.

He said government took the rigorous process, because “when we set out, we wanted to do what is right.”

He said that government would do an alternative route from Imo River – Umuikaa – Obikabia –Umuene- Ukaegbu road to Ikot Ekpene road, off the Umuahia-Aba expressway “to decongest Aba and remove traffic that is not necessary.”

Commissioner for Works, Don Otumchere Oti, said the flag-off was historic because the project would the first six-lane road in Abia State.

Oti, while reeling out the specifications of the road, said it would be structurally strong, with drainages and sidewalks and would be built to stand the test of time, adding that it would boost the economic potential of Umuahia.

He thanked the people and communities affected by the project for their cooperation.

In separate interviews, some traditional rulers from the communities, including Eze Iheanyichukwu Ezeigbo and Eze Chiabuotu Emelike, commended the governor for the project, adding that their subjects were happy that the state government remembered them.

They said road expansion was very laudable, adding the people of Ossah were happy because they believed that the expansion of the road would attract development and improve the beauty of our community.

They said their people demanded compensation and the government has started paying some and believed that the governor’s word that all those whose structures would be affected by the road expansion would be compensated.

They also pleaded with the government to give those who need to relocate some time to do so.