Residents and commuters on Tuesday called out the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, Udu Council Chairman, Vincent Oyibode and Chairman, Obakpor Engineering, Olorogun John Oguma for allegedly neglecting and abandoning the collapsed ever-busy Ovwian/Udu major road leading to the Council headquarters.
The community made the call during a protest against the deplorable state of the road.
Armed with banners and stationed at the Udu expressway, the protesters said it was disheartening that the Delta State Government and its contractor had given deaf ears to the plight of the people.
The community insisted that the government and the contractor who had handled the road failed to urgently address the issues, vowing to block and occupy the road until their request for repars is met.
Olorogun James Mudiaga, one of the protsters, “There is no road in Udu, the government of the state has abandoned Udu, there is no road in Orhuwhorun, there is no road in Owhrode, there is no road in Ovwian. We need a road, this is a state government road.
“Governor Sheriff, we call on you to come to our rescue, we are suffering and cannot bear it again, so we decided to embark on this peaceful protest.
“Oguma who owns the contract has refused to do it. The Council Chairman has said it is a state road and there is nothing he can do unless the government mobilizes the contractor.”
Another leader, Goodluck Mukoro said, “We need road, save Udu now, Governor come to our rescue, Udu has been abandoned, if the government failed to fix this road, we shall block it and occupy it till they will come to fix it.
“We also call on all the agencies, NDDC, DESOPADEC, WEUDA etc to hear our cry. This is the only major road we have; it is a shame that it is deplorable and no attention is given to it.
A driver, Patrick Onoriode on his part said, “I go to a mechanic workshop everyday after passing through this road, I stay in Ujevwu and my office is in Udu Road. I have replaced my car Bump cover three times within four months. The suffering is enormous.
“It appears that the Council Chairman, the Contractor and Governor have become deaf, they only respect the people when they need votes. They are only concerned about re-election now, but it is shameful that we have this type of road.”
A panel beater, David Idowu said, “I almost died two weeks ago when my bike entered one of the big holes, it was God, the politicians and government are very wicked. They are waiting for people to die before they can come to fix the road.
“If that is what they want, we want them to die so that the road will be fixed. They come around to collect levies from us but to fix this road they have refused. We need this road to be fixed,” he added.
