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The trouble with the Awajir–Oju road is no longer just the potholes and abandoned stretches. It is the creeping feeling that politics has quietly taken over a project that should have been simple and straightforward.
What was designed to last between five and eight months has now dragged beyond one year. At a point, contractors packed up and left site. Explanations followed; festive break, logistics, adjustments; but none could hide the reality on ground. The road stands still, and the people are left to wonder.
Hope returned briefly when Hon. Ikong Cyril Ijebe announced that contractors had been mobilised back to site. That announcement lifted spirits. Yet, weeks after, the same silence remains. No visible work. No clear explanation. Just another round of waiting.
Then came the assurance from Dr. Sam Ode in Oju. He spoke confidently that Governor Hyacinth Alia would complete the road before 2027. It sounded like good news, but for many, the mention of 2027 changed everything. A project that began as a development effort suddenly started to look like an election promise in disguise.
Around the same period, Hon. David Ogewu found himself in the middle of public criticism after presenting a governorship hopeful, Mathias Byuan, at a gathering as a “next governor,” come 2027.
Whether intended or not, the timing raised questions. In politics, timing is everything, and this one did not help matters.
Now there are claims, though strongly denied, that this development may have unsettled the state leadership, with the governor allegedly reacting: “let Ogewu’s next governor fix the road.”
However, government sources maintain that the road project remains on course and will be completed. But on the ground, people are not following official lines anymore. They are watching actions, not statements. And the action is not encouraging.
A road that should connect communities has become slow, uncertain, and wrapped in too many political signals. The longer the delay continues, the harder it becomes to separate governance from ambition.
The people of Oju are not asking for too much. They are not interested in who becomes governor in 2027. They simply want the road done, because at the end of the day, a road is not a campaign poster. It is a lifeline. And right now, that lifeline is still hanging in the balance.
