Nosakhare Agbonigiarhuoyi
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Friday, inspected the ongoing drainage and road construction at Owina, Evbotubu quarters, and Central Road in GRA, Benin City.
In his remarks, the Governor, who was accompanied by the Commissioner for Road and Bridges, Hon. Ethan Uzamare, said that the move is in line with keeping to the promise made to residents of the area who had hitherto suffered from flooding.
According to Obaseki, “This project is one designed to take care of the large population of residents in this area called Evbotubu. If you know Benin well, this is a new area, and it is very densely populated, and the citizens here have been suffering from very serious erosion and flooding.
“And I promised that before I leave office, we will be undertaking a comprehensive design, come up with a solution. This is the solution that we’ve come up with. Only after we have dealt with the drainage issue can we now begin to fix the road.
“At some points, some of these roads were built, but because of water, we lost all of them. So, for us as a government, we have done very substantial analysis and design work, to make sure we first capture as much of the flood and water before we commence rebuilding all the roads in this area.”
While inspecting the ongoing drainage construction on Central Road, GRA, the Governor noted that the state is metamorphosing from an ancient city to a modern one.
“If you noticed, there was no drainage when the colonial masters laid out GRA. Most of the compounds were large pieces of properties. So, water drained into properties. There were no fences, and with the buildup today, all the water that would have been draining into open areas now find their way into roads, because compounds have been built up. So that’s what has caused the perennial flooding and bad roads across the city.
“What we are trying to do, as part of the re-gentrification, is to re-channel waters. So, we are putting drainages in most of the roads now. We are taking levels and see where all the waters will empty into”, Obaseki said.
“With what we are doing now; we are redesigning the drainage system in this part of town and in other parts of town, and then once we finish with the drainage systems, we now resurface the roads and then put the necessary road infrastructures like street lights, sidewalks and street cameras; so that you begin to get a feel of a modern city; people can be free to walk freely, take strolls and feel safe”, he added.
