Protest over Ikom-Obudu road fuelled by casualties, says Youth leader
Protests in Ikom
IDONGESIT INYANG, CALABAR
A recent protest by youths from both the Central and Northern Cross River over the deteriorating state of a critical 120-kilometre corridor, has finally attracted and drawn the attention of Cross River State Government
The protesting youths were from Ikom, Etung, Boki, Obanliku and Obudu Local Government Areas and were expressing concern over the deplorable condition of the Ikom-Wula-Obudu federal road.
Along the road, pregnant women have suffered complications, trucks overturned, goods spilled while there have been numerous crashes leading to several deaths.
Speaking during a visit to the deplorable areas by the State Commissioner for Works, Engr.Pius Edet, the leader of the protesting youths, Dr. Martins Assam, clarified that the demonstration was not politically motivated.
Assam, claimed that the protest, was driven by the alarming number of deaths, occasioned by accidents being recorded on the road.
According to him, “This protest is borne out of pain and repeated casualties after years of waiting without meaningful intervention. ”
Other speakers decried the economic losses suffered by residents despite the significant revenue generated from timber, food and cash crops in the axis.
They also called on government to scrutinize the activities of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, FERMA, alleging that the agency sometimes erects signage indicating completed works where little or nothing has been done.
In his response, the State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Hon. Pius Edet , urged the youths to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring them that government was already aware of their plight and working toward lasting solutions.
According to Edet, “the state government recognizes the strategic importance of the road, which cuts across five local government areas and serves as a vital economic artery linking Cross River to Benue and other northern states.”
He, however, emphasized that the road is a federal highway and requires collaborative intervention, expressing the need for both the state and federal governments to partner on the reconstruction of the road to ameliorate the plight of our people.
