New Road Leads Students to Scholarships
Immaculate Heart Road Umungasi Aba in Osisioma local government of Abia State is home to many private schools and a big parish, the SSAnthony and Jude Catholic Church. But for over a decade the area was not accessible due to the deplorable state of the road. Students and their teachers waded through muddy water to and from school, business owners lamented low patronage due to bad road which put off prospective customers and landlords agonised over the low value of theirpropertiesasrentsplunged because people relocated from the area.
The parish priest of SS Anthony and Jude Catholic Church, Rev Fr. Francis Onuoha said the deplorable state of the road became so unbearable that many of his parishioners decided to relocate to other parts of Aba. However, on July 9, 2021 the lamentations of the residents of Immaculate Heart road gave way to songs of joy and happiness as a newly reconstructed road was inaugurated by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
Students, teachers, Reverend Sisters, members of the Catholic Women Organisation in their trade mark uniform and indeed residents of Umungasi poured onto the newly built road to welcome Ikpeazu and his entourage and thank him for the new road. It was a big sigh of relief for them as a smooth, solid roadwithdrainagesystem emerged to replace the hitherto inaccessible road.
Band boys from some of the schools competed for attention as they played out their hearts while waiting for the arrival of the governor. Students lined up waving mini Nigeria flags. It was a joyous occasion.
Fr Onuoha was so overwhelmed with joy at the new look road that he prophesied that his parishioners that “ran away” when the road was so bad would come back. He profusely thanked Governor Ikpeazu for reconstructing the road, noting that the ongoing urban renewal in Aba has shown that Ikpeazu ‘is a real Nwa Aba” (Aba son).
Chairman of Immaculate Good Neighbours (Landlords) Association, Prince Nweze was equally riding in the pink cloud as he lauded Governor Ikpeazu for remembering their area in his distribution of road projects.
“The reconstruction of Immaculate Heart road is a testimony of your desire to make the entire Abia conducive for living and for doing businesses,” he told the governor. “Things are moving smoothly now and businesses are growing”.
Governor Ikpeazu was very much impressed with the level of appreciation shown by ImmaculateHeartresidentsthathe announced scholarship awards to seven students that sang welcome song and other performances. He used the occasion to defend the perceived slow pace in execution of projects by his administration, saying that his “slow and steady” approach was aimed at delivering quality infrastructure to the people of Abia.