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Residents of Benin City, the Edo State capital, are groaning over the deplorable state of most of the intra-city roads, making driving on the roads a nightmare.
Recall that the state had been in the news in the past weeks following the deplorable state of roads linking it to Asaba and Warri in Delta State, with commuters telling tales of woe.
Some of the bad roads are within the Government Reserved Areas (GRA), which were constructed decades ago without any visible rehabilitation work done by successive governments in the state to give them a facelift.
Not left out is the appalling condition of the Oba Ovoranmen Square (Ring Road), which has become an eyesore with potholes and deep craters, with the residents of the metropolitan city calling on Governor Monday Okpebholo to rescue the city centre.
From the Mission Road, Oba Market Road and Plymouth Road entries to the Ring Road, it has become a herculean task for commuters using the square as they meander through the numerous potholes that have almost rendered the city centre impassable.
The situation becomes a chaotic spectacle to behold, especially in the early hours of the day when workers struggle to get to work and late in the evening, when the workers and traders close from work and their businesses.
It gets worse as commercial drivers who were previously barred from dropping off and picking up passengers at the King’s Square have turned the place into a motor park.
In the GRA, Ihama Road by the House of Assembly Quarters remains impassable whenever it rains, while Boundary Road towards Airport Road and Adesuwa Grammar School Road suffer the same fate whenever the rain falls.
Giwa Amu, Gapiona and other adjoining roads are also at the mercy of erosion as there are no drainages to take the overflow of water out of the GRA.
Gardens built around the King’s Square by former Governor Adams Oshiomhole have become overgrown with weeds, even as hawkers are seen all over the place, turning all the walkways into extensions of their stores.
The National Museum, which used to be a point of attraction from any point of the King’s Square, has now become unkempt and overgrown with grass.
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Some residents, who spoke with journalists over the deplorable state of the Ring Road, described its current state as a bad tale ahead of the Oba of Benin’s 10th-year coronation anniversary.
One of them, Mr Osaro Idemudia, said: “We are not happy with the way the Ring Road is looking. Bus drivers are supposed to take passengers at the Central Park. Look at dirt everywhere.”
A motorist, James Igie, said “the King’s Square represents the image of the state”, and called on the state government to attend to the situation promptly.
“It is sad that the Oba Ovoranmen Square was allowed to look dirty. This is not good and we hope the government will address the situation,” he added.
On his part, Solomon Aibangbee, a businessman, said “in the last two weeks, the state of the roads in Edo State has been in the news all over the world. Passengers and motorists spend days passing through Edo State because of bad roads.
“As if that is not enough, you now add the roads within Benin City to the problems. Is Ring Road also a federal road? I ask because that is the usual excuse we hear,” Aibangbee lamented.
In his reaction, the Managing Director of Edo State Road Maintenance Agency, Engr. Felix Ibhade, said there were plans to fix the Ring Road.
He explained that Governor Okpebholo had said that he would not want to do palliative work on the road but a full-blown asphalting rehabilitation.
“So we are on it. Our constraints is the rain because the majority of the roads we have given amelioration, the rain washed them up. So we are waiting for the rain to subside. That is the beauty of the town and we don’t do it and after one month it will wear out. We will work in collaboration with the Ministry of Works because it is not going to be an easy job,” Ibhade said.
In his comment, the Managing Director, Edo State Parks and Gardens Agency, Pastor Stanley Ighodaro, said Governor Okpebholo had shown commitment to beautify Benin City centre and other areas in the state.
