The people of Nguru Umuaro Community, in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State are calling on their Governor, Hope Uzodimma, to urgently save their economic livelihoods by fixing their badly damaged main access road.
The road links the community to Ngor Okpala council headquarters, Umuneke, and to two other important towns: Ulakwo (Owerri North LGA of Imo State) and Okehi (Etche LGA of Rivers State).
The road, which has been neglected for years by successive governments in Imo State amid its deplorable condition, is currently neither passable nor motorable, causing vehicles to abandon the road, especially the Umuewere Village section, while the people can no longer access their farms, markets, schools and churches.
The ugly development has increased the people’s hardship, hunger and poverty, causing frustration, despair, heart break and high blood pressure to some of those who depend only on farming for survival, with some of them dying in the process.
At the protest held on Thursday to draw attention to their plight, the people appealed to the Imo State government to urgently rehabilitate the road to save their livelihoods before they suffer more socio-economic losses and setback.
Addressing journalists during the protest, President-General of Nguru Umuaro Community, Mr Peter Okereafor, said the bad condition of the road had adversely affected farmers, students and the people generally.
He explained: “We’re here because we’re not happy with the state of the road. You can see that this road is very very deplorable. Our people cannot go to the farm. Our people cannot go to the market. Our children cannot go to school. This road has affected the livelihood of our people. We’re appealing to the government to please, as a matter of urgency, come and fix this road. This is the road leading to the (Ngor Okpala) local government headquarters.”
President-General of Nguru Umuaro Women, Mrs Ngozi Ikea, said the bad state of the road had exposed a lot of women to accidents when they tried to access their farms.
“We have suffered a lot with bad road. With this bad road, our women cannot go to their farms. When they carry their wares to go to the market, they will be falling inside water. Enough is enough. If they don’t do this road, the women would not vote,” she said.
Ikechukwu Okere, youth president of Nguru Umuaro Community, lamented that some of their people could no longer access their homes because of the bad road.
“We no longer want promises. We’re tired of promises. We want action this time around,” he said, insisting that only a rehabilitation of the road would guarantee their people’s participation in next year’s election.
Jude Nkwocha, coordinator of the protest, had earlier, in a statement, explained that the essence of the protest was to draw the attention of government to the terrible condition of the road.
