Akwa Ibom: Business owners, commuters count losses as Calabar-Itu Road remain closed

Business owners and residents of Calabar-Itu Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and its environs are counting their losses as the road remains closed to traffic for over five months.

Recall that the Commissioner for Works and Fire Service, Professor Eno Ibanga on May, 2024 announced a temporary closure of Calabar-Itu Highway by Park Road intersection and Calabar-Itu dual carriageway by Mandela Street intersection to enable the deep excavation work involved in the ongoing construction of 0.97km underground drainage system at Tabernacle Road.

The drainage aimed to evacuate water from Ikot Ekpene Road and its environs was expected to be completed within one month.

Unfortunately, it has lasted for over five months with no completion date in sight.

This has raised a lot of concerns from residents who complained of worsened flooding whenever it rains and the deplorable state of alternative routes.

They wondered why the state government was not proactive enough to fix the alternative roads before blocking the Calabar/Itu highway.

Bar owners, supermarket owners and other traders around the area also lamented that Calabar Itu which was once a beehive of activity is now a ghost town as no commercial activity is happening there and some people have been compelled to pack out of the area.

Recounting his loss, a supermarket owner along the road, who identified himself as Golden said most of the goods he had in the shop expired because of low patronage as motorists who were his greatest customers now used alternative routes to their destinations.

According to him, “my business has almost folded up since this road was closed.

“Most of my serious customers are motorists who would just park their vehicles and do a lot of shopping. For over five months, such a thing never happened. I have lost most of them.

“The worst part is that some of my goods have passed their expiry dates; I had to auction quite a lot of them before the expiration, with the attendant loss.”

Also, a beer parlour owner along the road lamented how his business has been grounded following the road closure.

“Since you came here, have you seen any other person come in?

“This is to tell you that people are not coming as they used to. I feel reluctant to cook pepper soup because on three different occasions that I cooked, I couldn’t sell up to half of it and I ran at a loss. I’m getting tired of the whole thing because getting a new shop is not even easy,” he lamented.

Apart from the economic and social hazard the closure had caused the people, those in the adjoining streets have complained of the high impact of flooding.

Gideon, a resident of Tabernacle Road, lamented how floods would enter people’s poultry farms and houses, drown their fowls and destroy their electronics and other valuable properties.

He said, “forget about what the government is saying on the radio and on the pages of newspapers.

“I’m not exaggerating, some people have relocated, while some vacated their residence to live with friends and families temporarily in other safe places.

“There was a time flood carried the corpse of one man who was kept for embalmment by his son and everyone ran away. I wonder why the government is still dragging its feet to do something about this area. It’s terrible.”

DAILY POST reports that the alternative routes used by commuters, such as Ikpa road, Uyo village road, Ikot Usoro, Nelson Mandela, Enen Mkprong, among others which were a bit motorable have become deplorable and almost impassable following the heavy traffic by heavy duty vehicles, mini-buses and other private vehicles.

On their part, residents expressed dismay in the contractor handling the project, decrying the slow pace of work and lack of capacity to handle a project of such magnitude.

“The people handling the project are unnecessarily slow. If they are not serious, why don’t the government give it to more serious firms?” One of the aggrieved residents, who simply identified himself as Ubong queried.

Government Reacts

The Commissioner for Works, Prof Eno Ibanga in a press conference in Uyo appealed to the public to be more patient, assuring that the project would be completed by December as promised by the contractor.

He said the contractor had gone 11 metres deep below the ground before the torrential rainfall in the state that had slowed down the project.

Eno disclosed that the state government had injected N4.54 billion on 11 emergency intervention ARISE projects in which Tabernacle underground drainage was inclusive.

His words, “We’ve heard a lot about Tabernacle Road. When his Excellency, Gov Umo Eno assumed office, that was one of the first projects he flagged off.

“The greater part of the work needed deep excavation and from the professional advice, we are 11 metres deep below the ground, but was unfortunately slowed down because of the perennial rainfall.

“The contractor has assured us that by December we will open that road with the assumption that the situation we have with the rains will abate.”

However, two weeks after the commissioner’s pronouncement, nothing much seems to be happening at the site.