The member representing Ibiono Ibom State constituency at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Mr Moses Essien has raised the alarm over the deplorable state of the long abandoned Calabar/Itu highway.
He called on President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government to hasten the construction of the road which connects the South-South and the South-East as well as other parts of the country.
The construction of Calabar/Itu highway by the current construction firm had dragged for over five years with no completion in sight.
The lawmaker, Essien, during an oversight visit to the area, lamented how commuters and motorists spend days in long queues stretching several kilometres on both lanes of the road, thereby causing loss of man hours, economic and material resources.
He expressed concern ove the slow pace of work by the construction firm handling the project and the untold suffering and economic loss by commuters along the road.
Highlighting the road’s strategic importance for both Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, and the untold sufferings commuters from both states had suffered over the years, Essien urged Tinubu to provide adequate funding to contractors with a matching order for immediate completion of the project.
Speaking to journalists, Essien said: “As the member representing the people of Ibiono Ibom state constituency and as one who has been using this road, I had to come here to see things for myself from what I have seen and as you can see, the road has become impassable and the people of my constituency and other users are suffering.
“I want to seize this opportunity to call on the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene, and ensure adequate and proper funding for the construction of this important road which links the South-South region and the South-East region and other parts of the country.
“You can only imagine what the people are suffering on this road, sleeping days on the road without getting to their destinations.
“People cannot access Cross River State from here, neither can they access Akwa Ibom State, and you know the importance of this road to this region and the country as a whole.”
It was gathered that Calabar/Itu road was initially constructed in the 70s and has exceeded its lifespan.
