General News
COMMUTERS in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River have commended the Federal Government for the ongoing highway repair in South-South region, saying travel time has dropped as work advances on Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The respondents, who responded to the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) survey on the state of major roads, commended the Federal Government for making some routes motorable, calling for the repair of other highways.
They noted that the rainy season had worsened road conditions across the region and urged the government to expedite action on the ongoing projects for timely completion and faster travel times.
In Rivers, the commuters expressed mixed views on the conditions of the East-West Road, particularly the Ahoada-Eleme-Onne axis, and the Port Harcourt-Enugu Highway and Port Harcourt-Owerri Road.
The roads are key economic corridors, linking Rivers with neighbouring states and facilitating the movement of people and goods.
Mr Tamuno Briggs, a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) official in Rivers, acknowledged the ongoing reconstruction work on Eleme-Onne section of the East-West highway but noted that the Ahoada axis needed attention.
“We are aware that the Federal Government, in collaboration with the Rivers State Government, has commenced reconstruction of the road, but the pace of work is slower than expected.
“Because of the slow progress, our members who frequent the road, experience vehicle breakdowns, which increases operational costs,” he said.
Briggs urged the government and contractors handling the project to sustain rehabilitation efforts and ensure quality work on the strategic transport corridors.
Mr Chinedu Okafor, a commercial bus driver plying the Port Harcourt-Ahoada route, said potholes and failed sections continued to impede traffic flow while the rainy season kept worsening the situation, resulting in frequent mechanic visits.
However, Abdulrahman Musa, a long-distance truck driver operating between Onne Port and Enugu, said the reconstruction work on the Eleme-Onne section of the East-West Road had improved traffic flow.
He said construction was visible in several locations and while motorists experience occasional delays, the road was still motorable, calling for its accelerated completion to reduce travel delays and economic losses.
Also speaking, Chief Samuel Eke, a petroleum engineer and resident of Port Harcourt, commended contractors handling rehabilitation works on parts of the East-West Road, saying that the road was formerly deplorable, causing gridlock and long travel times.
Eke said the poor state of the road had resulted in several fuel tanker accidents and spillages, recalling the April 2024 fuel tanker explosion due to the damaged section which killed four people and destroyed 70 vehicles.
“Although the project is yet to be completed, reconstruction activities have brought noticeable improvement. Road users can now access areas that were previously difficult to navigate,” he said.
Mr Godwin Amadi, Chairman of the Rivers Road Safety Stakeholders Forum, noted that government intervention had reduced the number of completely impassable sections along the affected corridors.
“The East-West Road is not perfect, but there is clear progress. Compared with what motorists experienced in the past, the situation has improved considerably,” Amadi concluded.
Similarly, Mrs Esther Nwankwo, a trader and regular user of the Port Harcourt-Enugu Highway, described the condition of some sections as concerning.
According to her, damaged portions of the highway contribute to delays and increase the risk of accidents, particularly during the rainy season.
Mr Ifeanyi Ume, a transporter plying Port Harcourt-Owerri Road, said the Omagwa-Omerelu stretch was full of deep potholes and called for urgent repair of the road as rainy season continued to worsen conditions.
He said the 13 kilometre stretch, which previously was a 15-20 minute drive from Omagwa, ”now takes 50 minutes; a lot of heavy-duty vehicles have fallen on that road.
”Government should repair the road; it is very important for commerce. That’s why you see a lot of heavy-duty vehicles plying the Port Harcourt-Owerri Road.
”Rivers Government is currently constructing a N200 billion Ring Road project across eight local government areas, with several sections of the federal highways benefiting from the development,” Ume said.
In Cross River, Mr Lloyd Ndoma, a commercial motorist plying the Calabar-Ogoja-Gboko route, said that the route still remained a drivers’ nightmare despite remedial works in some parts of the road.
He said in the last few months, some aspects of the road had become manageable especially between Abochichi to Vandekya due to the remediation works by the state government on the road.
On Calabar- Ikom- Ogoja Highway, also known as the A4 Corridor, Ndoma said the section of Akamkpa and Biase was deplorable, especially in rainy season, with many potholes.
He said there were many agencies including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Federal and Cross River governments, working on different parts of the road.
“You can only have peace of mind on this road, from some parts of Biase to Ikom Bridge, which was constructed by the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Another road that has been a major challenge to the people of Cross River and Akwa Ibom is the Calabar-Itu Road which has been in a bad state for years.
On Calabar-Itu Road, the Federal Government approved N185 billion for reconstructing and dualising the road in 2021, but nothing was done on the road after four years.
Mr Eyo Ekpo, Chairman, Cross River South Consultative Forum, recounted hardships faced by people in Cross River and Akwa Ibom, saying that potholes, erosion, and heavy rains made some areas impassable.
Ekpo added that due to the road condition, rising transportation costs were hurting businesses, preventing farmers from reaching markets efficiently, while disruptions to essential services continued to affect communities and livelihoods across the two states.
The Minister of Works Mr David Umahi, in one of his remarks, attributed the slow pace of work on the Calabar-Itu Road project to the rainy season, which he said worsened road conditions.
He noted that President Bola Tinubu’s administration remained committed to infrastructure and nationwide connectivity through strategic projects such as the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
In Akwa Ibom, commuters plying federal highways commended the Federal Government for commencing work on the deplorable major roads in the state and urged it to ensure their early completion to enhance economic activities.
Mrs Emilia Essien, a business woman plying Calabar-Itu-Uyo Road weekly, said there had been great improvement on the road as she could travel from Uyo to Calabar and back the same day.
Essien said commuters, especially traders, could now heave a sigh of relief on the road as some could travel from Calabar to Uyo within two hours, unlike before.
“However, they promised us a dual carriageway, but what we are seeing is just remediation measures on the former carriageway, no expansion. Due to heavy traffic on the road, we wish FG to dualise it,” she said.
An educationist, Mr Anietie Umo, said the road was about 60 per cent better than before and urged the road contractors to pay attention on the portion where hardcore had been packed with no asphalt to avoid crashes.
He appealed to the road contractors to ensure that there were enough caution signs at places with barricades to avoid drivers ramming into it, saying, ‘’compared to six months ago, the Calabar-Itu Road is better.”
Another traveller, who uses the road often, Dr Charles Effiong, a Lecturer, University of Calabar, commended contractors handling the Calabar-Itu Road project for doing well as work had passed the Itu LGA and was approaching Oku Iboku.
“The journey that used to take four hours from Calabar to Uyo is now taking less than two hours. One can go to Calabar from Uyo very freely under two hours,” Effiong said.
Mr Uwem Imoh, Chairman, NURTW, Akwa Ibom Council, said the Calabar-Itu Highway had become far better than what it used to be.
“Before now, our drivers used to spend two nights on the Calabar-Itu Road, but now they can go and come back the same day,” Imoh said.
Imoh urged the federal government to complete the road but not to abandon the initial plan of its dualism in order to enhance economic activities in both states and beyond.
Mrs Lovina Anthony, a journalist, who travelled from PortHarcourt to Uyo, said the East-West Road had become quite motorable.
“The journey from Port Harcourt to Uyo was very smooth as the Akwa Ibom axis of the road is very quite okay. There is an improvement on the federal roads,” she said.
Mr Vincent Okoduwa, Controller, Federal Ministry of Works in Akwa Ibom, said about five federal government roads projects were ongoing in the state.
Okoduwa listed the federal roads in the state to include Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Section 3 and 5, the Calabar-Itu Road project, the East-West Road and Eket Bypass.
He said that works were ongoing in all the federal roads across the state, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, being handled by Hitech Construction Company, as contractors were on sites.
”On Section 3 road project, we have rigid pavements of eight kilometers which span both left and right. We have done a couple of drainage works there.
“So, far work is ongoing and the contractor, Hitech Construction Company, is pushing forward to ensure it delivers the project as scheduled.
“The Section 5 starts somewhere in Okobo in Akwa Ibom and is an 82.9km project. Work has also commenced and we are doing more earth works and clearing,” he said.
On Calabar-Itu Highway, he recalled the deplorable state of the road and how the project was taken from Raycon Nigeria Ltd and awarded to Hitech which had improved the road massively.
“They are doing very well; their stone base is made up of bitumen and five per cent cement stabilisation on their pavements; that shows the strength of the road; they are still on site,” he said.
He attributed the delay in the completion of Calabar-Itu Road to the issue of compensation for the property owners and residents affected by the road construction which was supposed to be paid by the state government.
He explained that the federal government had earlier directed the state governments to pay the compensation, but assured that the minister of works had called for the compensation documents to be retrieved from the state government.
“That has always been the constraint to the completion of the Calabar-Itu road. What Hitech is doing on Calabar-Itu Road is to work on the existing carriageway, pending when compensation is paid before expansion,” he said.
During a visit to the project site, the site engineer of Hitech Construction Company, Mr Abeed Jamal, said the road project would be completed by the end of June.
Jamel said Hitech, which started the project in May, would ensure quality of work, attributing the delay in project completion to excessive rainfall and heavy influx of traffic on the road, especially heavy duty trucks.
He said to ensure speedy completion of the job, he engaged the services of FRSC, the Police, the Army and safety officers to manage the traffic while the construction was going on simultaneously.
“We have tried our best to ensure the job is completed by the end of June. If no one tamper with the road, I will give you a 20 year guarantee of the quality of the road project,” Jamel said.
(NAN)
W.U
July 6, 2026
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