The Isinweke–Onicha Uboma–Imo River Road and the Umuawuchi Ezinmba Road have been ignored and left to deteriorate, according to the DAILY POST.

The situation has hurt the economy, and people in the affected areas are fighting to stay alive. Tunji Adedeji has been keeping up with the story, and he reports on it.

The contract, which was given to Daeyun Nigeria Ltd. in Wuse, Abuja, in 2012 for the amount of N5.2 billion, was supposed to be finished in three years. But after 10 years, the project is still just a dream for the people who live in the agrarian communities.

The worst part of the Umuawuchi Ezimba Road project was given to Marco-kings Nigeria Limited. It was completely left behind after the foundation was laid. As stated in the contract, the project site at Lowa and the Onicha Uboma-Imo River, which connects the community to its neighbors and serves as a link between Abia and Enugu States, have not yet gotten the attention they need.

Also, people who live near the bad parts of the road say they haven't seen any tractors or heavy-duty vehicles moving around, which would be a sign that work is still going on at the site.

People take stock of what they've lost.

The terrible condition of the Lowa and Onicha Uboma-Imo River road has become a constant source of sadness for the people who live in the affected communities. Comrade Eguzie Emeka Vincent, who was the Secretary of Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area and the Speaker/Liaison Officer of the Ntoloma Autonomous Community, said that the road has hurt their ability to make a living.

He said: "People in our area have a hard time getting their farm goods and goods to markets in nearby towns. Access to markets outside of their communities has become a pipe dream, especially during the rainy season.

"The condition of the roads is awful. At least you saw how hard it was for the people who didn't have a road to get to their homes, schools, markets, and other places. Nothing has happened.

"The road is in bad shape, and nothing sensible has been done to fix it since it was given to the contractor." We feel like we can't do anything and don't know what to do next.

"I want the NDDC to keep track of this contract for a road. When you give out a contract, you should at least check to see if it was done. I'm begging NDDC and Federal Government officials to stop by the road they've contracted for a surprise inspection. So, the contractors could be asked questions and, if necessary, asked to come back to the site based on what they found.

"However, we'd like the road to be finished." Our community is the food basket for this LGA and other places because we grow a lot of crops. But because the roads are so bad, our farm products can't be taken outside of the community. We make it, eat it, and sell it to ourselves, and many of the perishable ones go to waste because the roads are in such bad shape. "These roads are very important to this community."

PC Obasi, who lives in the Ezinmba autonomous community and is a lawyer and youth leader, felt the same way.

Obasi said that Ezinmba is a community that is part of the Dimneze political ward.

"The Emelogara Road is the name of this bad spot. As you can see, there are no cars or trucks around. I mean, nobody tries to drive on this road because anyone who does is thought to be on a suicide mission. It would be an understatement to say that the road is in terrible shape.

"In 2012, the NDDC gave this road a grant. This part of the road is a little less than 2 kilometers long. Macho King Nigeria Limited, which is contacting us, is owned by Engr. Mark Uchendu, one of our sons. Our people lost the most when the contractor brought his earth-moving equipment up to this point and destroyed it.

"This road used to be manageable, even though it took a lot of work from everyone." But since the contractor came in 2012, it has gotten worse.

"On July 14, 2019, I asked in a forum why the road project was canceled. Instead of telling us what happened, the contractor, Hon. Mark Uchendu, used threats, saying, "I'll do something that will shock you all."

"At that point, it was clear that this so-called contractor, who had just left his job as Secretary to the Government of Imo State under the governor who had just left, Rochas Okorocha, was trying to scare the people of Ezimba into being weak and giving up.

"During all the time he was in office, he had many chances to make up for his bad behavior toward the people of Ezimba Community, but he chose to be stubborn and stubborn-headed," he said.

Obasi also said, "The rains have washed away the whole road, making it impossible for people to walk, ride bikes, or drive on."

"Riding a bike or driving a car on the road is just a suicide mission." It is true that the road is much worse now than it was before the terrible contractor and his big machines showed up.

"Our people, who are mostly farmers, can't get their crops to the markets, get medical care from the nearby hospitals, especially in an emergency, and, worst of all, get the bodies of our loved ones to the morgue, which is at the local government headquarters in Isinweke. In the end, all our people want is for the road to be fixed, at least to the point where it can be used again.

When he was called, the traditional ruler of the Onicha Uboma Community, HRH Eze (Barr.) Abel Osuji, said that the Isinweke-Onicha-Imo River Road was in terrible shape.

He said that the government was putting the wrong people in charge.

He said that it is "very unfortunate" that the road, which was started by the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, is still not finished, even though the contract was given to a son of Imo North senatorial zone.

"The contract was given by the government through the Deputy Speaker of the Federal Republic, which was a very kind thing to do." We couldn't do anything to get it on our own, so the government gave it to us. Eze Osuji said, "We need to think about what we can do for ourselves."

The traditional ruler said that contracts given to Mark Uchendu, a former Secretary to the State Government, should be looked into because of how bad the old Eke Umuawuchi-Umuawuchi Ezimba Road is.

He said, "No one will ever get rich by stealing money." The Federal Government will get back a lot of money if it checks on contractors and contracts after they are given. Men and women with good morals who are not in government should do the probing. If done right, the result will shock them.

"This ugly event has made it hard for the people of Umuawuchi-Umuawuchi Ezimba Road to work and make a living. It has also hurt the economic activities of the people in the affected communities."

Someone from the NDDC speaks out.

When our reporter asked the NDDC for more information about the contract award, the Director of the Imo State Office, Engr. Tony Okanne, said that the contract for the Umuawuchi Ezinmba Road project was given to Marcho King Nigeria Limited on May 27, 2012.

He said that before giving up on the project, Marcho King Nigeria Limited built about 4.9 kilometers of concrete drains and three culverts.

When asked if the right steps were taken to follow procurement laws, the NDDC boss said "yes."

He said that Marcho King Nigeria Limited cleaned up the Umuawuchi Ezinmba Road on May 27, 2010, but had problems with the community.

He said that the contractor stopped working on the project because the NDDC couldn't get contractors to the site and there were problems between the contractors and the community.

"NDDC no longer mobilizes contractors," he said. That's what we do. "We don't hire contractors anymore, and we can't go after someone for not paying us."

On Isiweke-Onitsha Uboma-Imo River Road in Ihitte Uboma, he said that the project was a regional project and that the commission did follow the rules when giving the contract and choosing the contractor.

When told that the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer's office in Port Harcourt was inaccessible and that attempts to get the commission's response to the Isiweke-Onitsha Uboma-Imo River Road contract failed because the soldiers at the gate wouldn't let our reporter in, the NDDC boss said, "Just write it like that."

When asked by phone why the old Eke Umuawuchi-Umuawuchi Ezimba Road, which had been given to his construction company, Marcho King Nigeria Limited, was abandoned, Hon. Uchendu said that the road project wasn't well funded.

"It was only paid for up to the point of drainage, not past that," he said.

In order to explain more, he asked rhetorically if anyone would spend N5.2 million to build a 2.5-kilometer road.

"N5.2 million isn't even enough to build a 10-meter road." They had a problem with the bill of quantity, and we were trying to solve it. It hasn't been figured out yet. I won't do a job if I know I won't get paid, no matter where they want to send it.

"Ezinmba Development Union doesn't want the problem to be solved, so let them keep petitioning." I met with them; we will have followed up on the situation and found a solution together, possibly through one of the National Assembly members who will put it back in the budget, because if it's in the budget, it's in the budget. I will do it, but if not, I can't do anything because nobody will pay me.

"They asked the NDDC a lot of questions about this project, so I went with them and the NDDC told us what happened. It has happened before. If someone thinks it's a problem that needs to be fixed, the project must come from the budget.

"We stopped working on the project because there is no money for it right now. All efforts to get money for it failed. I have written several letters." I've spent a lot of money trying to solve the problem, but I can't use my money to do a project that I'm not sure I'll get paid for."

What the contractors had to say

Henry Iyoma, the head of construction at Daeyun Nigeria Ltd. in Wuse, Abuja, explained why the Isinweke–Onicha Uboma–Imo River Road project hasn't been finished after 10 years: "The first time, we had trouble with the executive. In fact, it was clear that there were many problems.

"First, we had problems with the former governor, Rochas Okorocha, which let us push the market out of the way.

"We also had trouble with people in the community who were upset that the market would be taken down and the NDDC would do the enumeration because the project was supposed to go through the market.

"So, when we started, we didn't start at the beginning, because we can't bulldoze the market or people's property unless the owners of the job pay the people."

He said that when they started, the NDDC "said that they were talking with the community in line with procurement laws." Also, they said that they had hired a surveyor.

"The surveyor did what is called enumeration, which is the process of counting the people whose property was destroyed."

"As the contractor, we don't pay for the damage to people's property or negotiate how much they should be paid."

"When the NDDC and the people finally came to an agreement after many years, they gave us the list and told us to pay them, which we did," he said.

When asked how much the NDDC had given for the project, he said that the contract amount was N5.2 billion, but there were steps to take.

He said, "We were working; we worked and made an interim procurement certificate (IPC) so that the NDDC could pay us for the work we did." The NDDC gave only 9 kilometers, not the 16 kilometers that were asked for. In preparation for receiving phase 2, we cleared the road from Isiweke to Imo River. People think it's a 16-kilometer road because of this mistaken belief.

"Where and when did NDDC pay N5.2 billion to those who say we got it?"

It got to the point where the new State Director of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Port Harcourt invited the lawyer who wrote the petition, the NDDC surveyor, and me to a meeting.

"The NDDC told them right away that they don't pay contractors until the community has signed the valuer's papers and all parties agree on the valuation. We pay the price based on how much we think something is worth. We agreed to do the job if we were paid.

"At some point, we left the site, especially when the Federal Government and Godswill Akpabio started the forensic investigation." When they came to see us, we explained why we weren't working. When the forensics came out, there were some misunderstandings, which we cleared up. They then asked us to go back to work, so we went back to the site.

"Even though one of the embankments failed during the rainy season and there was a lot of uproar, if you go there now, there is a lot of work going on to get us to kilometer nine." "After being accused of getting billions for many years, it was clear we didn't get a dime."