By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – SOME residents of the Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Benin City are complaining about the deplorable state of roads in parts of the state capital including the GRA where the Government House of several other highbrow facilities owned by the government and individuals are situated.

The Government House is in the GRA, the governor stays in GRA, the official quarters of the deputy governor is in the GRA including the 4 Brigade Headquarters of the Nigerian Army, the residence of the Chief Judge of the state and several others.

But a drive round the roads showed a very deplorable state even though the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon Paul Ohonbamun said the state government was planning a holistic repair of the roads.

Some of the bad spots in the GRA include Government House Road after Ezoti Junction and beside the Benin Golf Course. Others include the road by the gate of 4 Brigade, Commercial Avenue, Boundary Road, Ihama road and others.

A resident in one of the houses close to 4 Brigade who did not give his full name but said he is known as Joe said “Benin GRA is a shame. I remember when the governor did a video in Ihama Road criticizing the former government, I thought by now he would have fixed that road but nothing had been done and beyond that virtually all the roads in the GRA are bad, the governor must act fast”

Boundary Road towards Adesuwa Grammar School Road has become almost impossible just as Ihama Road ends on the same Adesuwa Grammar School Road is almost completely cut off.

It is the same situation along Giwa Amu Road from the Airport Port Road end, and Gapiona Road, where flood water has formed artificial lakes, subjecting motorists to hardship as they try to find their ways out.

Some motorists blamed contractors for doing shoddy jobs anytime previous governments awarded contracts for repairs of the GRA roads

But Ohonbamu said that the state government would adopt a holistic approach to fixing the bad roads and the accompanying flooding problems in the Benin GRA and cautioned that any rush to fix roads in the GRA without addressing the real problems would worsen the conditions of the roads adding that “When it is done, we know it is done and not haphazard work. It is going to be holistic.”