The Campaign for Democracy (CD) and the Human Rights, Liberty Access and Peace Defenders’ Foundation (HURIDE) have urged Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to extend ongoing road rehabilitation and palliative works to more roads across Onitsha, the state’s commercial hub.
The groups said urgent intervention on the city’s deteriorating roads would improve traffic flow, ease the movement of goods and people, and reduce the hardship faced daily by residents, motorists and businesses.
In a statement issued recently, Chairman of CD in the South-east and HURIDE, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, called for an aggressive and sustained road maintenance programme across the state, with particular attention to strategic roads within Onitsha.
Uzor listed Uga Street, Arondizuogu Street, Port Harcourt Road, Orlu Street, Modebe Avenue, Oguta Road, Awka Road, Old Market Road, Ridge Road, the GRA area, Mbonu Ojike Street and Limca Road among roads requiring urgent attention.
According to him, the government’s intervention on road infrastructure should be timely and widespread, particularly in densely populated areas where poor roads contribute significantly to traffic congestion and economic losses.
The groups, however, commended Soludo for his administration’s investments in road infrastructure, citing projects including the dualisation of the Agulu-Nnobi-Nnewi Road and rehabilitation of the Nnobi-Igboukwu-Ekwulobia-Oko-Ufuma-Ajalli-Umunze axis.
CD and HURIDE urged the governor not to relent, stressing that Onitsha’s strategic economic importance and high population density make functional road infrastructure essential to the city’s growth and the wider Anambra economy.