Federal roads in Imo death traps –Okorocha

From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri

Governor Rochas Okorocha has described federal roads in Imo State as death traps.
Okorocha stated this at the weekend when the Chairman of Works Committee of the House of Representatives, Tobi Okechukwu and his members paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, Owerri. He said all the federal roads in the state  had become death traps and that his government had no option but to fix the roads for the benefit of the people of the state.
He pointed out that  the state had been grossly short-changed on the issue of federal roads, stressing that the conditions of the roads were terrible.
The governor said the situation got to a level that his administration had to take up all the roads without minding the ones that are federal and the state-owned roads.
He stressed that the people of the state would not be allowed to suffer because of negligence of federal roads in the state.
“In Imo, we do not know again which one is federal road or state-owned. We do every road like the Akokwa/Orlu Road which we have fixed and dualised. Owerri/Port-Harcourt Road is so bad. There must be cooperation between the Federal Government and stakeholders on these roads.
“The big contractors hold the government to ransom on these roads. They would collect huge sums and work at snail pace.
“We must move the nation forward. There must be synergy between states and the Federal Government over federal roads in the state.”
Speaking earlier,  Okechukwu disclosed that  they were in the state as part of their constitutional responsibilities of checking the state of federal roads in the states.
He stated that they had gone round and had seen the challenges and would ensure that money appropriated for these roads is used accordingly.