The women who blocked the Abakaliki-Enugu dualised roads by Senator Sam Egwu Flyover Ezzamgbo junction in Ohaukwu council area in the early hours of Tuesday expressed sadness over the slow pace of the road project execution, currently undergoing rehabilitation since last year.
While interacting with newsmen, the Leader of the women, Mrs Blessing Okweshi, lamented that the alleged abandoned project has been causing accidents resulting in deaths of those plying the route, especially the residents.
Mrs Okweshi said, "The worst among the deadly accidents occurred on this road last Sunday, and it consumed the lives of a pregnant mother with her unborn baby and a man on the spot.
"The woman's name is Chika Unah, a mother of three, and she was killed on the abandoned road by a lorry driver, who ran away without reporting to any police station to date since the accident occurred last Sunday.
"Many lives have been lost along this Abakaliki-Enugu highway, and you can see how potholes are dug on the roads, with heaps littered on the roads without road signs since 2024 till date.
"And that's why we massively come out to stage a peaceful protest, to condemn this ugly act because our people are tired of dying like fowls because of the slow pace execution of this road project."
Other women, including Hellen Nweonwe and Obiageri Owoh, among others, also expressed dismay over the abandonment of the road project and described the route as a death trap.
They maintained that the demonstration was to register their grievances to the general public and, however, expressed their readiness to declare a full showdown protest if the relevant authorities refused to address their complaints.
Reacting to the development, the traditional ruler of Ntsuruakpa Izhia community, HRH Eze Joseph Ozogbuo Okafor, blamed the contractor handling the road project and called for urgent action to avert accidents causing the death of those plying the route, especially the residents.
He called on the state and federal governments to intervene immediately to ensure fast completion of the project, as in his words, "Nobody is not weeping over the gory nature of the road and its deadly effects since last year."
The former Coordinator of Ohaukwu Development Centre, Chief Okweshi Obiora and Chief Obasi James - a stakeholder in the community, observed that the level of the loss of lives already recorded on the road since last year was high and urged the contractor to hasten up to complete the job, to avoid attracting any form of protest in the community.
The Executive Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Prince Ikechukwu Odono, who came to the scene of the protest, urged the women to embrace peace by going back to their various homes, with assurance the contractor would be compelled to fasten up the work without any further delay.
Also, the State Commissioner for Capital Territory and Urban Development, Chief Sunday Inyima, advised the protesters to embrace peace with assurance that the relevant authorities would address their demands without delay.
