Anambra State Orders Contractors to Rebuild Failed Roads Before Christmas Season

Contractors engaged by the Anambra State government have resumed reconstruction of several roads that sustained damage from extreme rainfall and flooding, in response to a directive issued ahead of the upcoming Christmas season. The affected projects include the Amawbia-Agulu-Ekwulobia- Uga dual carriageway, the Agulu-Nnewi dual carrieway, and other major roads across the state. The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Okey Ezeobi, had earlier attributed the failures to flash flooding rather than poor construction materials. He instructed contractors to carry out full reconstruction instead of temporary spot repairs, consistent with Governor Chukwuma Soludo's push for quality infrastructure delivery. Within 12 hours of the directive, contractors reportedly mobilised to their respective sites and began reconstruction work across the state. At the Amawbia end of the dual carriageway, asphalt on one lane had been completely removed, while sand- filling work was ongoing. Similar activities were observed at the Neni section of the Agulu-Nnewi road and along the Nnewi-Ozubulu-Okija dual carrieway. Ministry officials visited project sites over the weekend to monitor progress. Ezeobi had previously dismissed allegations that the road failures stemmed from substandard construction, insisting that the contractors are reputable companies capable of undertaking corrective work at no cost to the state. He said: 'Because of the quality of these contractors, they are able to return to site to effect reconstruction whenever there is any failure and they do this at no cost to the state. If we had given the contract to small companies, they won't come back to address the failures. We took time to select all the contractors working for us.' The commissioner also pointed to natural disaster impacts, noting that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had issued warnings about possible flooding during the year. Roads located in flood-prone areas, particularly sections of the Amawbia-Ekwulobia dual carrieway where swamps and underground water movements contributed to damage, were especially vulnerable. 'Roads along flood-prone areas in the state are adversely affected,' Ezeobi explained. 'For instance, the Amawbia-Ekwulobia dual carrieway is erosion-prone as there are swamps in some areas and the water there is always struggling to come up. So in the affected places, we will remove the asphalt and do cement-based stabilisation to help suppress further underground water coming up to destroy it.' Ezeobi assured that the affected roads would undergo reconstruction and quality checks before being certified for public use, with the government to announce their official opening once the work is completed and certified.