. Ohanaeze Youths urge Umahi, Uzodimma to act
Students of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) and Federal Polytechnic Nekede are lamenting the deplorable state of the Ihiagwa-Naze-Obinze road, describing it as a source of daily hardship and insecurity.
The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), the apex Igbo socio-political youth organization, made the revelation on Monday day, August 31st August in Owerri during a press briefing.
The National President of Ohanaeze Youth Council-Oyc , Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, said the Ihiagwa-FUTO road is part of the major Naze-Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze corridor in Owerri West, which links the two federal institutions.
He urged the Minister of Works, Senator David Nweze Umahi, and the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, to take urgent responsibility to fix the road.
“Although it is a state road, it connects two major federal institutions, Federal University of Technology (FUTO) and Federal Polytechnic Nekede. The Federal Ministry of Works under Sen. David Nweze Umahi should intervene, prove capacity to end the suffering of students,” Comrade Igboayaka O Igboayaka stated.
Igboayaka noted that the road has suffered years of neglect, abandonment, and heavy dilapidation, resulting in vehicle damage, long travel times, and untold hardship for students, staff, and residents.
The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) leader Comrade Igboayaka also alleged that previous reconstruction efforts by the Imo State Government from Naze-Nekede axis were abandoned.
Igboayaka, further raised concerns over rising insecurity, saying the bad road has become a den for kidnapping, car snatching, and motorcycle theft.
Igboayaka called for collaborative action by both the federal and state governments, and recommended drainage expansion toward Ihiagwa Market and bridge construction to ease movement and serve as a bypass.
He revealed “Commuters constantly lament the delays and poor terrain. We need a fast and permanent completion of this road before it becomes a death trap,” he added.
