Worried residents of World Bank/Umuguma, Owerri, have cried out to the governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, urging him to use his powers to compel the contractor handling the World Bank-Umuguma road construction to complete the project on time.

Speaking to South-East PUNCH, the residents maintained that the call on the governor to wade into the issue of the abandonment of the project by the contractor became imperative and urgent in view of the imminence of another rainy season and subsequent hardship and suffering they would face occasioned by the road, when the rain starts.

They opined that road construction was usually a dry season project, which meant that the contractor handling the road was supposed to be very much on ground now, working to deliver the road ahead of the rainy season.

Lamenting that what they were witnessing was the opposite of that ideal situation, the residents further disclosed that an in-depth investigation they carried out revealed that it was the contractor handling the project, said to be from Okigwe geo-political zone of the state, who was responsible for the unfortunate situation, having been fully paid by the Uzodimma administration.

They disclosed that it was the shocking discovery that propelled them into speaking out and calling on Uzodimma to intervene and use his executive powers and authority to ensure that not only did the contractor quietly goes back to site, but he also completes the road before the 2024 rainy season sets in fully.

They noted that if Uzodimma didn’t act quickly or fail to order the erring contractor to return to work immediately, it would mean pushing residents of the area to a fate worse than that of refugees.

They said, “This is because what we would suffer this year on the road would be far worse than what refugees experience in refugee camps.”

They however, expressed the hope that Uzodimma would never allow them to be subjected to that type of untold hardship.