The commercial city of Aba was transformed into a huge carnival scene when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu commissioned the 6.7km Port Harcourt Road, reconstructed by the leading engineering construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.
A press statement issued by the media unit of the conglomerate, Monday, said community representatives from Aba mayoralty and surrounding local government areas stormed the various entertainment sports slated for celebrating what a resident at Aba/Port Harcourt Road junction, Obi Ikechukwu, called celebration of good life after bitter life.
Another excited resident, a rent collector said, “before now, we didn’t make use of this road; we didn’t even open our shops because of the kind of flood we do face here, but today, that sad story has changed.”
A bus operator, Ikem Nonso, also testified that Port Harcourt Road had not been accessible for them since 2007, saying, “for a long time now, we mostly make use of Owerrinta road to go to Port Harcourt, and it used to be very stressful for us drivers; but we thank God that it will no longer be like that again.”
Amidst sonorous singing and dancing, there were displays by masquerades and DJs. Women and youth groups were not left out, as each competed for available spaces to underscore their joy at the redemption which the project commissioning signified.
Amidst the horde of joyful residents that thronged the entire length of the road, President Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, described the completed road project as a miracle delivered by the state government through Julius Berger.
The President commended Abia state governor, Alex Otti, for the quality of work executed as well as his commitment to infrastructural renewal across the state. On the reconstructed road, Tinubu said “the government and contractor’s efforts have led to the “miracle of transformation” being witnessed in not only Aba, but also the entire state.
The Director of Administration, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr. Abdulaziz Kaita, said: “Port Harcourt Road is more than a corridor of asphalt and concrete; it is a lifeline for commerce and connection. It links markets to manufacturers, neighbourhoods to opportunities, and Aba to the broader economy of the South-East and the Niger Delta.”
