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A lecturer with the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo, PhD, has appealed to the State Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori to take over the reconstruction of the Sapele, Eku, Abraka, Obiaruku, Abavo, Agbor 70 Kilometers road in the interest of Deltans.

Dr Bebenimibo who is also a human rights activist decried the deplorable state of the Federal road and implored the Governor in an open letter to ameliorate the untold hardship people who are using the road are passing through on a daily basis.

The don who served as a board member of the immediate past Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), between 2019 and 2023, while lamenting the neglect of the road by the Federal Government over the years, advised the Governor to approach President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to allow him work on the road for the betterment of road users.

Dr Bebenimibo, a member of the Delta State PDP and an publisher of PEBNEWS, an online newspaper said: “I am a regular user of the road mentioned above. The road is dilapidated and unpassable now. I know that the road is a Federal road, which the Federal Government has purportedly worked on in the last 12 years or more. However, this road is right in the middle of Delta State, cutting across eight Local Government Areas, including your local government area, Okpe. Others are Ika South, Ika North East, Ukuwani, Ethiope East, Sapele and Ughelli North Local Government Areas. In other words, people from these local government areas have used this road before it became unpassable”.

He continued: “The unpalatable condition of the road is a major contributor to the high cost of agricultural products in the state and other parts of Nigeria. The rickety state of the road also contributes to the prevailing insecurity in Delta State.

“It is also a significant contributor to the high cost of transportation in Delta State. The present state of the road is killing education in Delta State as two Universities in Delta State, namely Delta State University, Abraka and the University of Agbor are situated along the road; Staff and Students find it difficult to use the road right now.”

He said further: “Your Excellency Sir, it is Deltans that use this road; Deltans own farms along this road, and it is Deltans that are suffering. If you can construct fly-overs on a federal road in Warri and Effurun, your can also reconstruct this critical road for Deltans.”