Connak Foundation has begun repair work on the popular Old Timber road in Umuahia, Abia State, southeast Nigeria.
It was gathered that residents and several indigenous commuters requested the foundation to come and alleviate their suffering by repairing the damaged section of the road.
It also noted that it approached and got approval from the Abia State Ministry of Works before embarking on the project.
The Old Timber road connects to many villages, including Olokoro, Ohokobe and Afara.
The repair work is expected to also benefit people using the Olokoro road to access Michael Okpara University through the Olokoro bypass.
Nigeria Abroad, a news and community platform, has ranked Abia State as the number one state in the country with the worst road networks.
Data from Stears Business indicates that barely 15 percent of all road networks in Nigeria is paved. It also noted that the poor quality of Nigerian roads acts as a stumbling block to development in the country.
A World Bank assessment also showed that road users bear the true cost of poor road maintenance.
‘We embarked on this project for the sake of the population that plies that road daily’, Connak Foundation said in a statement on its Facebook page.
‘We acknowledge that government with its many responsibilities may not be able to do all for her citizens in the present day, so we approached the Ministry of Works to contribute our own quota to the development of Abia State where our founder, Sir Kenneth Ukeagu, hails from.
‘The rehabilitation of the Old Timber Road, Umuahia, is currently ongoing and we will keep you updated on this project as it develops’.
Commenting under the Facebook post, some users, who identified themselves as residents of the area, commended the nonprofit for the intervention.
‘It is an incredible source of inspiration and encouragement. [K]eep up the amazing work’, one Elijah Irozuru said.
Another user, Frank Akobundu, said, ‘Thank you [Connak] Foundation for this remedial intervention. [Y]ou have shown much love and massive care to the people of Abia [S]tate through various channels of empowerment and development regardless of the fact that you are not a politician’.
Photo source: Connak Foundation
