Umuahia – Ikot-Ekpene Federal Road – Governor Otti To The Rescue.

By Uzoma Isiakpu

The Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene Federal Road, like most federal roads in the South-east geopolitical zone, has been in poor condition for as long as anyone can remember.

Seven years after Hartland Construction Company Limited was awarded the contract to rehabilitate the road, no meaningful progress has been made in project execution.

Since 2019, when the contract was awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, the contractor has moved from one section of the road to another using earth moving machines and men.

As a result, some work is done from one end of the road to the other, with no end in sight for the road’s completion.  Ordinarily, the road’s reconstruction should have been completed long ago.

Rather than cleaning up the road for the comfort of its users, we only hear empty promises.  At regular intervals, officials from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing will assure that the project will be completed soon.  However, all efforts are futile.

Similarly, Chief Sam Onuigbo, a former federal legislator for the Ikwuano-Umuahia Federal Constituency and a member of the North-east Development Commission (NEDC), has consistently advocated for the federal government, promising Ndi Abia that the nightmare of navigating the water-logged and filled gully-like potholes will soon be a thing of the past.
Chief Sam Onuigbo’s assurances have been interpreted as political rhetoric to rally support for President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led federal government.  As we write, a greater portion of the road remains unattended and has deteriorated further.

As expected, the prolonged delay in repairing the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road has resulted in the deaths of many Nigerians, including students from Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.

Goods worth billions of naira have been destroyed or vandalised as a result of heavy duty truck capsizings on the road.  Transporters and other road users who travel the federal highway have become regular customers of mechanic shops due to their vehicles’ frequent breakdowns.

The economic loss incurred by Abia State, and indeed the country, as a result of man-hours wasted on the road is incalculable and cannot be quantified.
Given the broken promises, Abians and commuters have been wondering how long it will take to complete this strategic federal road that connects Abia State to Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers States.

The answer to their agitation came on June 11, 2025, when Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti inaugurated the IBB Way in Umuahia North local government. The governor informed the cheering crowd that he had directed the State Commissioner for Works to begin reconstruction of the Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene Federal Road, which he noted is in poor condition.

Governor Otti acknowledged that it is a federal road, saying, “… So, whether it is federal or state, it is Abia people who use it.”  And we will fix it.” That is it.
Governor Alex Otti’s intervention is a welcome development and rescue mission by the Abia State government in addressing the apparent inability to complete work on the road.

And, based on the Otti-led administration’s track record in road reconstruction, the Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene Federal Road is expected to be completed within the next year or before 2027.

With President Bola Tinubu’s express permission to state governors to reconstruct federal roads in their areas, Abia State, like other states, can now recoup any amount spent on federal road repairs without the usual bureaucratic bottlenecks that have previously existed.

*Isiakpu is a media and public relations consultant