Traders in Miniorlu Market in Rivers State have cried out to the state government over the deplorable state of Miniorlu Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. The traders lamented that the road had become impassable as potholes got wider.
Although the road was rehabilitated about three years ago, the traders observed that the work done on it was not good enough, hence its rapid dilapidation. They (traders) complained that the poor state of the road had made it impossible for them to break even in their businesses.
A food stuff seller at the market, who identified herself as Gloria, told our correspondent that traders were unable to do business in the market once it rained, saying flooding after rain made it impossible for customers to patronise them .
Gloria pleaded with the state government to repair the road to ensure patronage. According to her, when the road is repaired, customers will come back.
“Look at the gutter there, when we come to the market to sell food stuff, our children usually fall into the gutter. The gutter is too close to our market. We are appealing to the state government to come to our aid and rehabilitate the road.
“When the rain falls, the entire market is flooded and we cannot sell our food stuff again. Customers go to other markets because they cannot drive down to this place because of the bad roads. All our customers have left us.
“Government should do something to change the situation. They (state government) worked on the road in the past. It just went bad again. We know that if they work on the road, our customers would come back to us,” Gloria said.
Also, a meat seller at the market, Abbas Omiosetakoko, said they were facing hard times as a result of near-zero patronage due to the bad road. Omiosetakoko, said it had become difficult to break even. He urged the state government to come to their rescue and ensure the speedy rehabilitation of the road.
He said. “We have been complaining about this road and we are tired of complaining. We are having bad market because of bad roads. We are begging our leaders to find solution to bad roads. The condition of the road is making it impossible for us to have more customers.
“All the traders in this market are not happy because our customers have gone. Our government should have mercy on us. They should help us by rehabilitating the road. In the past, I would sell between N50,000 and N70,000 meat in a day. But customers can no longer get to this place because of the bad road.
Joy, a nurse, who manages a drug store along Miniorlu Road, said she had also adversely affected by the bad road as most customers avoided the road leading to her store.
She said, “There is a big hole at the beginning of the road. Some individuals volunteered to pour red mud to cover the hole. Store operators and traders are losing as a result of the bad road. This is a road linking other roads, but you can see that only few vehicles pass here in a day. At the end of the year, people will not get money to pay for their shops. We plead with government to help us to repair the road.”
Efforts made to reach the state Commissioner for Works to speak on the situation of the road were not successful.
