Nightmare Called Enugu/ Port Harcourt Expressway

It is unmistakably secure to walk through the den of the Islamic sect called Boko Haram than drive on most roads in the South-East and South-South, especially on the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway.

Many motorists have constantly related their bad ordeals while plying the pit-of-hell. Apart from Okigwe and Umuahia, Umuahia and Isiala Ngwa South, and Aba/Imo River Bridge at the boundary with Abia and Rivers States where the Expressway has conspicuously damaged, it is a nightmare travelling on the Expressway along Umuebulu Junction near Oyigbo Local Government Area, Rivers State.

On October 8 2014, this reporter took the picture of a truck carrying goods suspected to be tomatoes and pepper that fell on the road the Federal Government had in 2012 said it had awarded contract for the modernization. The red motor in the picture had its bumper removed by a spot that has worsened at the Umuebulu Junction.

These are infinitesimal tales of woes by motorists compared to the number of vehicles that get spoilt by the worsened highway per day, whereas the road was supposed to be so relevant. It used to be the economic hub for both the government and individuals to convey their services from one place to another.

One bystander who did not give her name while filing this report said, “It is appalling that this road remains thus considering the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan is from the region where the road is situated.”

Many wondered if the people of South-South and South-East would vote for Mr. President in 2015 owing to his palpable aborted promise in 2011 that he would rebuild the road if voted into power.

(Report and Photos by Odimegwu Onwumere, Rivers State. Tel: +2348032552855).