Residents Lament Deplorable Condition of Ishieke-Izhiangbo Road

Concerned Ebonyi State citizens, especially Ohaukwu people, have decried the state of the section of Abakaliki/Enugu Expressway road tracking from Izhiangbo to Ishieke junction, which has claimed lots of lives as a result of the continuous rehabilitation of the one-lane which has lasted for close to 6 months without completion.

It was gathered that since last year, 2024, the Federal Government initiated maintenance of the portion of the road from 135 Izhiangbo to Ishieke junction to ease movement on the road by motorists. However, the maintenance has remained uncompleted for months, which has hampered ease of movement and caused a lot of accidents which claimed lives, including the Personal Assistant to the Deputy Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Comr Eze Ifeanyichukwu Eleke, who died after he had an accident alongside 4 others on the 11th January 2025.

Comr Ezeson Jonah, who was a Media Aide to the former Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Council, Barr Clement Odah has taken to his Facebook page to call on the Minister of Works, Engr Dave Nweze Umahi, Zonal Chairman of Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Dr Kenneth Ugbala and the contractors handling the section of road to address the road urgently and emphasized that not fewer than 30 persons have lost their life on the route.

“God gives and takes life but Abakaliki-Enugu expressway takes more. Within 2024 and 2025 about 30 have died along the road between Ishieke and Izhia. The graves they are digging in the name of road maintenance are taking the lives of the young and the old.

If you’re in a position to complain and you are not doing so because of politics or whatever it may be, your or your family’s turn tomorrow. Nobody is above dying untimely.

Hon Minister for Works, Senator Engineer David Nweze Umahi, CON
FERMA Chairman South East, Kenneth Igwe Ugbala
Contractors like Hon Edwin Onwe pls take note of this”

A native of Ngbo in Ohaukwu Local Government Council, Miss Favour Nwadimma, also expressed sadness for losing her friend, who he said was pregnant along the road last week in a tragic accident.

Tunzy Okaria didn’t hide his mixed as he lamented how he lost one of his friends untimely along the route.

Investigation shows that, between January 2025 and February, more than 10 accidents occurred on the road. While some of the victims died, some sustained varying degrees of injuries and were in the hospital scooping for survival. The death toll on the road has allegedly reached 30 or more, a development that has thrown families into mourning and anguish.

However, in another development, the women of Izhiangbo who were devastated by the continuous ghastly accidents, staged a peaceful protest in their numbers earlier today, 11th February 2025 with placards bearing inscriptions like: “Help us, we are perishing” “Say no to one lane driving” Our people are being killed daily on this” among other inscriptions suggestion annoyance.