The Amuokpokpor-Elume community in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State, is lamenting how the road executed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) failed a year after its completion.
The community Chairman, Daniel Ogbodo, who recounted how the project started in 2020, alleged that the contractor used substandard materials to carry out the project, resulting in its outright failure after one year of completion.
He said the newly constructed concrete-paved road did not last a year before deteriorating, leaving the community in a worse state than before the NDDC’s intervention.
While urging the NDDC to revisit the site and construct a good road, he bemoaned the immense hardship resulting from the road’s deplorable condition.
“People are complaints about the deplorable state of the road, the loss of life, and paralysis of their economic activities just a year after its completion by the contractor,” Ogbodo said.
He appealed to the NDDC to resume work on the collapsed road connecting the agrarian community to other parts of the council.
“The road constitutes a death trap owing to the presence of heaps of stones, exposed construction iron, and no drainage.
“At the project’s inception, the community was filled with jubilation, knowing the struggles residents had faced with poor road conditions for years,” he added.
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Community elder, Olu Majelele and Felix Emuobonuvie, President General of Elume District, explained the challenges caused by the poor road condition, including frequent falls and delayed vehicular movement.
“Currently, the Amuokpokpor Road is almost impassable because the rods and other metal objects utilized in its construction have resurfaced.
“This has resulted in the bursting of motorcycle and vehicle tyres. Consequently, no one wants to ride their motorcycle or drive their vehicle into the village for fear of punctured tyres.
“In the recent past, this road has been the site of a heartbreaking incident that led to the loss of our son, whose vehicle overturned, resulting in his instantaneous death.
“A visual inspection of the road, which was built less than five years ago, reveals the existence of multiple potholes,” they lamented.
