Kelvin Bowoto
Concerned Edo citizens have blocked the Auchi axis of the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi-Abuja Highway for the second day in protest of what they call the abandonment of reconstruction work that began in 2013.
On Tuesday, the organization mobilized homeowners and other road users to completely block the road at the popular Jattu Junction, where they set up canopies, lit bonfires, and cooked food.
The demonstrators also received support from the truck drivers union in the Etsako West axis, which deployed their vehicles to block the intersection, serving as a gateway for vehicles traveling the Benin-Ekpoma-Abuja highway.
The bottleneck resulted in a long stretch of trailers obstructing one lane from Jattu Junction to Okpella and Agbede, causing significant inconvenience to other motorists.
It’s worth noting that a similar event occurred last year when officials from the Federal Ministry of Works, through the Otaru of Auchi and the Ogieneni of Uzairue, commenced road reconstruction.
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Similarly, Adams Oshiomhole, the senator representing Edo North in the Senate, recently complained that the N200 million allocated for road reconstruction in the 2024 budget was insufficient.
Likewise, a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, revealed that getting to know Auchi and the surrounding areas has been difficult in the last two days.
He attributed the issue to the highway blockade, which spread to adjacent roads and streets in town.
“With the present cost of fuel, driving is not an option, so commercial trucks have been used to get around town.
“However, it’s regrettable that the government can put its own population in such pain. There is no security, light, or path for the people.
“Is it not an embarrassment that the Federal Government has been unable to construct a road that has been in progress since 2013? They haven’t even reached halfway through the construction,” the lecturer said anonymously.
Techrectory with Agency Report.
