Day Ekweremadu brought succour to Enugu communities

LAST Friday, the people of Nenwe, Nomeh, Mburumbu and Nara communities in Enugu State were in high spirit over the flag-off  of the 27-kilometre  road attracted to the area by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Eweremadu.

Nigerian Tribune, who was at the event, observed that the villagers came out in large number as early as 7am on the said day to be part of the event. The rural dwellers have suffered untold hardship due to neglect of the road by successive governments in the state.

Perhaps, it is against this backdrop that people of the area rolled out drums to celebrate their representatives at the National Assembly.

It was learnt that the ongoing construction of the 27 kilometres Nenwe-Nomeh-Mburumbu-Nara road by the Federal Government will spur to Oduma community all in Enugu-west Senatorial Zone.

Further checks revealed that lack of access roads to evacuate agricultural products had remained a huge setback for agriculture in the rural communities thereby leading to wastages, while also making farming appear an unprofitable ventures to many.

Little wonder the facilitator, Senator Eweremadu told the audience, “It is well known that the beneficiary communities of this road project are food baskets. They are especially good at rice production and palm produce. They also are also very good at groundnuts, palm cassava, fruits, and so many others. They are capable of hosting value-adding companies to farm products.

He noted,  “Unfortunately, there has been no access road to evacuate their farm produce or encourage value-adding firms to set up around the communities to boost agriculture and help diversify the economy and create employment. Lack of access road has resulted in wastages and economic loses.

“So, we approached the Federal Government with a request to construct this vital road and we have been on it for some years now. Today, we are happy that the Federal Government has made good its promise to construct the road to boost agriculture and economic diversification agenda.

“We are also happy that a capable and credible construction company is handing the project. We believe it will be concluded within the scheduled timeframe to open up these food baskets to the rest of the nation and investors”.

In his remark, the Controller of Works for Enugu State, in the Federal Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing, Works, Engr. Oluropo Oyetade, represented by the Resident Engineer, Engr. Clement Ogbuagu, said the Federal Government was committed to extending democracy dividends to every part of the country.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Works, who also represents part of the project communities, Hon. Toby Okechukwu (Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency) noted that the Nenwe-Nomeh-Mburumbu-Nara road project was only one of the ongoing Federal Government Road projects in the State.

The high point of the occasion was the formal flag-off of the road by Senator Ekweremadu while cultural dance by women from the benefitted villages added colour to the event.