Motorists, residents groan as potholes resurface on Akwa Ibom roads

Once the pride of Akwa Ibom’s infrastructure success story, the city of Uyo is again sinking into a familiar problem — potholes. Barely a year after major repairs that restored its reputation for smooth roads, gaping holes have reappeared across the city, turning daily drives into obstacle courses.

From Oron Road to Atiku Abubakar Avenue and Nwaniba Road in Uyo, and even in the highbrow Ewet Housing Estate, there are many potholes on the roads, forcing motorists to swerve dangerously.

At Ibom Plaza Bypass by Abak Road and parts of Aka Road, what used to be seamless stretches are now riddled with potholes that slow traffic to a crawl.

Park Road in Itam is no better. Its once-smooth lanes now feature water-filled potholes, forcing drivers to take over pedestrian walkways.

For commercial drivers and tricycle operators in Uyo, every trip has become a test of patience and vehicle endurance.

Residents have taken to social media to question why the roads deteriorated so quickly after the state government repaired them last year. Many fear that the recurring problem points to poor-quality materials, inadequate supervision, or outright neglect.

“There are too many potholes in Uyo and around the Uyo Capital City. How comfortable is the state government with these ugly and defacing trends in the state capital?” a Facebook user, Promise Akpan, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

“I believe this situation can be fixed immediately to bring back the beauty of Uyo and the pride of Akwa Ibom at large,” Mr Akpan added.

Ministry of Works, road maintenance agency

In the oil-rich state, the Ministry of Works and Fire Service handles major road construction, while a parastatal in the ministry, Akwa Ibom Roads and other Infrastructure Maintenance Agency (AKROIMA), is to ensure sustained maintenance and upkeep of roads and infrastructure in the state. Despite this responsibility, the agency appears inactive, leaving many to suggest it only exists on paper.

About three weeks ago, Governor Umo Eno said he had released N60 billion for contractors to complete construction works and mobilised others to the site. However, despite the governor’s claim, the state capital has many potholes on major roads.

“Some potholes in Uyo are deeper than pits,” another resident, Efene Idiongo-Abasi, wrote on Facebook five days ago.

“The ones on the Udoette Street axis are no more potholes but caves,” someone wrote in the comment section.

“We were excited when the government fixed these roads last year. But look at them now — it’s like the repairs were just for the cameras,” lamented Iniobong Ekanem, a taxi driver along Aka Road. “Our suspensions are gone, and we still pay taxes and levies. What’s the point if the roads can’t last?”

A radio presenter in Uyo, popularly called Sport Sailor, took to Facebook to query why roads in the state do not last and why potholes have returned less than a year after the state government launched “Operation No Potholes in Uyo” last year.

“The quality of roads done in Akwa Ibom State in recent years is substandard. Imagine service lanes in Edet Akpan Avenue (Four Lanes), Oron Road, before the roundabout, as you’re coming from Plaza, Atiku Flyover, by the side you’re entering from Idoro Road, isn’t passable,” he wrote on Facebook on 7 October.

“Potholes everywhere,” a journalist, Roseline Etukudo, wrote on Facebook on 22 September. Facebook users used the comment section to urge the state agency responsible for road maintenance to sit up.

Previous interventions

In October 2024, the Commissioner for Works and Fire Service, Eno Ibanga, said that Mr Eno had directed the ministry to engage two contractors in addition to the agency to carry out repairs of roads in Uyo.

“The noticeable potholes on our intra-city roads have already received the government’s attention as the governor has directed our ministry to immediately engage contractors, in addition to AKROIMA, to undertake maintenance and remedial works on intra-city roads,” Mr Ibanga, a professor, told reporters in Uyo last year. The text of the press briefing was posted on the State Government Facebook page on 20 October 2024.

‘In Akwa Ibom, potholes are blessings’

A former spokesperson to then-Governor Godswill Akpabio (now Senate President), Usoro Usoro, has also taken to Facebook to write a long article saying, “In Akwa Ibom, potholes are blessings.”

In a satirical article, Mr Usoro said the “Kingdom of Akwa Ibom” is ruled by the ever-hardworking King Eno, whom he described as a visionary leader so focused on development that he sometimes forgets the humble potholes beneath his throne.

“But calm down. Potholes are not bad. The only negative is that they murdered AKROIMA. Still, relax. Potholes here are not yet ditches or even ravines. In any case, potholes are good for democracy. They provide free swimming seasons for the poor,” Mr Usoro wrote last week.

Commercial bus, tricycle drivers groan

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday on the situation, a commercial bus driver, Sunny Akpan, identified the “deep potholes” along Ibom Plaza Bypass by Abak Road and those on both lanes around Atiku Abubakar Flyover as the worst.

“Riding on both lanes around the Atiku Flyover has become a nightmare. That place is a disaster waiting to happen because of how we manoeuvre to avoid falling into the ditch,” Mr Akpan said.

He, however, blamed their sufferings on the absence of union leaders to speak up for them, adding that the state government was paying lip service to the plight of commercial bus drivers despite charging them N300 daily for tickets.

Monday Ekanem, another commercial bus driver, told PREMIUM TIMES that the “state government will do nothing about it, no matter what is written.”

“Don’t waste your time, my brother; they will not fix it. It’s been a long time since that thing was cut. The state government cannot claim not to have seen it,” he added, indicating a total loss of hope in the leadership.

Emmanuel Jehu, a commercial tricycle rider, identified the dilapidated sections at Atiku Flyover and Itam Park Road as the worst for him.

“Those of Itam Park have cut off both lanes of the road,” he said, lamenting its effect on their operations.

Mr Jehu operates around Itam Parks, the slaughterhouse, and the Atiku Abubakar axis of Uyo city. He said he was unaware of the deep potholes around Plaza Bypass since tricycle operators are banned from operating the route.

The Commissioner for Information in Akwa Ibom, Aniekan Umanah, did not respond to our reporter’s calls seeking the government’s comment.