The only road (highway) linking Cross River State and other parts of the country has been cut into two. The road near Palmol Nigeria has been bad for over a year with erosion cutting deeply gradually.
The erosion according to our findings has finally eaten up the entire road, severing it into two. Commuters who travel from the other parts of the country including Akwa Ibom State to Cross River State have to disembark, trek across the erosion site and join another vehicle to Calabar.
The development has created a lot of problem, hence the high cost of living in Cross River State as the economic, political and social lives of the people of the state have been seriously affected.
The price of Garry, Rice, Oil and other food items have all been increased by 200%. Besides, the increases in the cost of foodstuffs, Nigerians passing through the bad road are subjected to severe suffering. Most of the commuters have their clothes torn to shred and dirty due to the bad road.
Our correspondent who visited the erosion prone area observed that thousands of commuters and several hundreds of people were seen stranded. Commercial drivers conveying passengers from other parts of the country regretted plying the road.
“Assuming I know that the road was so bad, I wouldn’t have ventured to carry these innocent passengers to Cross River State. We came in from Port Harcourt and now we cannot get to Calabar. What should I do, my family is in Calabar, where am I going to park my vehicle now?,” Peter Richard Okon lamented.
When DAILY POST contacted the Cross River State Commissioner for Works, Engr Osim Asu Dan on phone on Thursday, he said he could not grant a telephone interview or comment on anything on phone.
He asked our correspondent whether he does not know his office. Disappointingly, efforts to reach the commissioner in his office failed as he claimed he was not on seat.
Interestingly, when DAILY POST contacted the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ben Ayade, Mr Christian Ita on phone on Thursday, he said that intervention work was ongoing and referred our correspondent to the Commissioner for Works.
