Drivers, commuters bemoan deplorable state of roads in Edo

<p>Drivers, commuters and residents plying the ever-busy Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi Road, in Edo State, on Wednesday, bemoaned the deplorable condition of roads in the state.</p>, <p>It would be recalled that after running into a gridlock occasioned by the failed portion of the Sapele Road, penultimate week, Governor Godwin Obaseki mounted billboards depicting that the bad roads belonged to the Federal Government and urged the residents to bear with the state government.</p>, <p>One of the drivers, Mr. Anthony Isesele, who works with one of the popular transport companies in the state, and plies the eve- busy Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi Road, said the situation was becoming unbearable, as kidnappers and other criminals took advantage of the state of the road to kidnap unsuspecting commuters.</p>, <p>This was just as he lamented the huge cost of maintaining their vehicles.</p>, <p>“Edo State is a transit state that connects the South-West to the South-Eeast and as well the south to the North. The government of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole expanded about 16 billion Naira to rehabilitate federal government roads in Edo State. Oshiomhole knows that the ultimate beneficiaries of the so-called federal government roads are Edo people.”</p>, <p>“Has Obaseki fixed the state roads? Just go to the communities in Edo State and see the kind of roads that are there. I am coming from Auchi now, take your time and go to the villages in the three senatorial zones and see for yourself. And in any case, why is the Edo State Government collecting taxes from vehicles plying these federal roads?”</p>, <p>“The situation is unbearable, as kidnappers and other criminal-minded people take advantage of the state of the road to kidnap unsuspecting commuters. Again, the cost of maintaining our vehicles has become a burden.” He further lamented.</p>, <p>Also, Agnes Moses, a trader in Ekpoma, said they were surprised to see the screaming billboards that tell you: “This is a Federal Road. Please bear with the Edo State Government”, over the deplorable state of the