Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Friday, visited Obinofia Community, in Ezeagu Local Government Area, amid jubilation, for the inspection of the erosion-ravaged federal road project (Ozoechine Road) which was abandoned for lack of funding.
Gov. Ugwuanyi, accompanied by a team of engineers from the Highways Department of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, led by the Chief Engineer, Engr. S.T. Oluwadun, and the State Project Manager of Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), Barr. Vincent Obetta, was informed by Engr. Oluwadun that the road was being constructed by the federal government since 2013 but was abandoned because of lack of funding.
On his part, the State NEWMAP Project Manager, Barr. Obetta, disclosed that Gov. Ugwuanyi had on March 16, 2019 commissioned the agency to assess the road with engineering experts, adding that they realized, after scooping of the road, that it was a federal project under the Exclusive List of the Federal Government.
He therefore suggested that the state government should interface with the federal government with a view to declaring the road an emergency erosion site.
Gov. Ugwuanyi, who reiterated his administration’s commitment to rural development, youth empowerment and people’s wellbeing, said that the state government will intervene in the project through the options of meeting with the federal government on the issue of funding or embarking on remedial work during the dry season, among others.
The governor, who asked the people of the community to mention their most pressing need, approved the sum of five million naira for equipping the community’s maternity hospital, after the people called his attention to it.
He told the people of Obinofia that his administration will not abandon them, reassuring them that there will be a remarkable difference.
Gov. Ugwuanyi was received by the Chairman of Ezeagu LGA, Hon. Chukwudi Ani and jubilant sons and daughters of Obinofia, including the clergy, traditional ruler, President General of the Town Union and the immediate past Council Chairman, Hon. Fred Chukwudi Ezinwa, who all expressed their deep gratitude to the governor for coming to the rescue of the people of the community.
