Eze Michael Ifi Njoku Kalu, the traditional ruler of the Amaiyi Okpo community in Ihechiowa, Arochukwu LGA of Abia State, has urged the Abia State Government to put an end to the town’s 30-year neglect by successive administrations.
Eze Njoku Kalu, who was complaining about the bad state of the roads in his town, bemoaned that cars had vanished from the village because indigenes could no longer return home or travel around the community in their vehicles.
The traditional ruler, who asked Governor Alex Otti to remember the Okpo-Achara route in his ongoing infrastructural drive, remarked that
He claimed that no administration has undertaken the road improvement in over 30 years, forcing locals to walk lengthy distances to nearby communities.
The monarch, who nearly burst into tears while addressing to journalists, said roads in his domain were broken beyond repair, thereby cutting off his subjects from crucial services.
“The government has never paid attention to the road project in over 30 years. We trek to Umuchiakuma Junction. “There is no car in the community because vehicles cannot enter the village,” he explained.
Eze Njoku Kalu emphasised that, despite being a border hamlet between Cross River and Akwa Ibom states with a sizable voting population, Amaiyi Okpo is underserved, with limited basic infrastructure and government presence.
“We are pleading with Dr. Alex Otti’s government to come into the community and assist us.”
“The community has attempted to restore internal roads to improve mobility, but there is little a community can do to repair a major route. “We are in trouble,” he pleaded.
Eze Kalu also bemoaned the lack of government-supplied amenities in the village, claiming that the little facilities present were provided via the efforts of indigenous people.
Former chairman of Okpo Ihechiowa Development Union, OIDU, Cletus Torti Oleh, voiced concern over the community’s situation, adding that getting to the region has become difficult