By : Ike Philip Abiagom
Residents of Ebu Community in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State have passionately appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to urgently intervene in the deplorable condition of the Ebu–Ezi–Ukala Road, describing the once-busy economic route as a death trap that has cut the agrarian community off from neighbouring towns and villages.
Ebu, regarded as one of the major food baskets of Delta State, has for years depended on the Ebu–Ezi–Ukala Road as its major gateway linking the community to neighbouring communities such as Ezi, Ukala and Issele-Uku. However, residents lamented that the road, constructed over 30 years ago during the administration of former Delta State Governor James Ibori, has completely deteriorated and become impassable.
According to indigenes, the collapse of the road has negatively affected economic activities, transportation of farm produce, and the overall social life of the people, leaving residents in hardship and isolation.
Community sources disclosed that last year, indigenes of Ebu alongside their counterparts from Ezi and Ukala staged a peaceful protest at the Government House in Asaba to draw the attention of the state government to the worsening condition of the road.
The protesters were reportedly received and addressed by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, who assured them that government would look into their plight. Sadly, the communities said that despite the assurances, no visible action has been taken on the important road project up till date.
Residents expressed disappointment over what they described as years of neglect and abandonment, stressing that Ebu Community has continued to suffer despite its economic importance to the state as an agrarian hub.
Some indigenes wondered openly whether being a border community between Delta and Edo States had become a disadvantage, noting that Ebu remains the last border town between both states.
Our people are suffering. Farmers can no longer move their produce easily to nearby markets. Transportation has become difficult and dangerous. It feels as though Ebu has been forgotten entirely, a community leader lamented.
The people described the present condition of the community as “a bat that is neither a bird nor an animal,” saying they feel abandoned and disconnected from developmental attention.
The entire Ebu Community has therefore made a passionate appeal to Governor Oborevwori, popularly known for his infrastructure drive across the state, to come to their rescue by reconstructing the Ebu–Ezi–Ukala Road.
They emphasized that the road remains the only major access route connecting Ebu to neighbouring communities and warned that continued neglect could further cripple economic activities and worsen the suffering of residents.