Port Harcourt -The Rumuosi-Ozuoba road in Rivers has been taken over by flood as many electricity poles were destroyed in a downpour in the early hours of Tuesday in Ire-Akari area of Iloye Ota, Ogun.
The flood, which made the road inaccessible, has paralysed economic activities in the area.
Commenting on the situation of the road, Mr Ben Orlu, the Community Development Committee Chairman (CDC) of Ozuoba community, in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, said that many of the residents of the area had abandoned their homes for fear of possible loss of lives and property.
Orlu, who commended the state government for transforming the state in a very short period, called on the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to expedite action on the east-west road.
He said that flood which ravaged Rumuosi – Ozuoba road would have been avoided if the east-west road had been completed.
Orlu called on the Federal Government to release funds to ensure the early completion of the east-west road.
‘’If I gave a job out, I must be interested in knowing whether or not the people I gave the job to are doing the job or not.
’A case study is this Rumuosi-Ozuoba link road; I must tell you the rain that fell last week chased many people from their homes.
‘’And up till now, the impact of what the flood has done is still there, for me as one of the community leaders, it is very painful in my heart.
‘’As at last year’s dry season, the community mobilised women; women were going far distance from the community to where they have primary school collecting broken blocks to maintain the road and the road was okay then.
”Suddenly what we saw by early December was a contractor that came in. ’’
The community leader described his community as hospitable and law abiding people and urged the contractor working on the road to complete it before the rains begin.
He also urged the management of Niger Delta Development Commission to direct the contractor working on the Rumuosi-
Ozuoba road to return to site in order to save lives and property in the area.
Rain destroys electricity poles in Ogun
Also many electricity poles were destroyed in a downpour in the early hours of Tuesday in Ire-Akari area of Iloye Ota, Ogun.
The downpour, which started around 2.00 am, was accompanied by wind storm.
Residents in the community woke up to discover the damage caused by the rain which uprooted more than six electricity poles and disrupted traffic in the area.
Mr Olu Fashina, Vice-Chairman, Ire-Akari Estate Community Development Association, Iloye Ota, said that the damage was enormous.
Fashina said that the poles and a transformer serving the area destroyed by the rain were bought by members of the community.
“When we woke up this morning, many electricity poles had been destroyed and cables were blocking everywhere; residents could not go out early as usual.
“We have a committee which handles electricity problems and it has been mandated to report the incident to the PHCN.
“We want PHCN to assist us to repair these poles as soon as possible.
“Before the incident, we did not have adequate electricity supply and now it will be worse,’’ he said.
Mrs Alimat Tiamiyu, a resident in the area, also urged the PHCN to respond quickly as the damage was too much for the community to handle alone.
“I woke-up to see electricity poles and cables everywhere, it was very windy during the rain and I was afraid, “ she said.
Another resident, Mrs Adebimpe Ajayi, spoke in similar vein, praying that necessary repairs would be carried out and electricity would be restored in the area soon. (NAN)
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