The Abia State Government has refuted social media rumours claiming rainfall washed away a recently built road under Governor Alex Otti’s administration. During an inspection of the ongoing restoration of Pepples Road and other road projects in Abia State, Otumchere Oti, the Commissioner for Works in Abia State, clarified this.

“No part of the Pepples Road, which is still under construction, was washed away by rains,” according to Oti, who took newsmen around some of the project sites in Aba.

The Commissioner clarified that the portion of the road work impacted by stormwater was the area where the loose stone base was laid without protection.

He said, “The road was not washed off, as you can see.” The portion that is not protected is the one affected by stormwater. Even at that point, you can still see the road standing firmly. After going around, we noticed various things that needed to be improved to further safeguard the road.

“Stone base was recently laid down on the road; as you know, this is loose material. What do you think would happen if there was flooding on this loose material? It would be carried by the water. Thus, work is still being done on the road.

In addition to the fact that the drain servicing this area has a fairly vast catchment area, the flood is coming from the right side of the road. We will resolve the matter to ensure that something similar doesn’t happen again.

“My purpose for being here is to inspect it and see whether any action is required to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We have undoubtedly observed it, and we will take the appropriate corrective action to make sure that a similar issue doesn’t arise in the future. 

However, the issue would not have arisen if we had completed the road. This material is only loose. The commissioner stated that this kind of incident will not occur again by the time we finish the road, and we will also ensure every part is protected.

After determining that the extensive catchment area of the access was the source of the flooding issue, Engineer Oti guaranteed that the State Government would take appropriate action to guarantee the road was constructed correctly.

The Commissioner stated that “this road has a very large catchment area.” This location is receiving a lot of trash from the right-flowing water. If you glance to the right, you can see everything that the flood is bringing in from different locations. Thus, that is something else we must keep an eye on.

He regretted the attitude of certain people who claim that the road had been swept away. They never realized how horrible the inhabitants’ situation was before Governor Otti ordered that the road be rebuilt.

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