By Kenneth Onuoha
365Daily – Hundreds of irate youths from Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, staged a protest over the death of the former Commissioner for Infrastructure for concession, Mr Fidelis Nweze, who hailed from the area.
The protest disrupted both vehicular and human movement along the Abakaliki-Afikpo and other adjoining express roads.
Nweze died on Tuesday in an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.
He developed complications from a surgery to treat a perforated intestine injury he sustained from an accident he was involved in within Ebonyi.
Governor of the state, David Umahi, announced the death of the Commissioner at the New Government House, Abakaliki, on Tuesday and declared Wednesday a public holiday across the state.
He also declared fasting for all Ebonyi people to seek the face of God in the Affairs of the state.
Meanwhile, the death of the Commissioner prompted reactions among youths of Onueke Ezza South LGA.
They besieged the express road in their numbers, chanting songs and carrying placards with inscriptions saying “We need Investigation into Nweze’s death”, “Engr Nweze’s death, one too many”, “Furnish us with more details into his mysterious death”, among others.
They used tyres and empty drums to block the road, thereby forcing travellers to either wait or return to Abakaliki.
Several efforts by some stakeholders of the area to restore calm proved abortive as all their appeals fell on deaf ears.
The youths also trooped to the Ezza South East Development Centre Headquarters and vandalised the building and many office equipment.
It took the quick intervention of security personnel who mobilised to the area to restore normalcy and also pave the way for motorists and commuters travelling through the area to continue their journey.
Some of the protesters expressed sadness over the death of the Commissioner and called for an investigation to unravel the cause of his death.
Hon. Chinedu Nworie, a beneficiary of the deceased’s empowerment programme, described the death as unfortunate and a colossal loss to the youth of the state.
Hé called on Enugu State Government to urgently relocate the tanker drivers that usually park along the Eke-Obinagu axis of the Enugu-Abakaliki Express Road.
Nworie noted that hundreds of motorists and commuters have lost their lives along the axis while many others spend several hours as a result of traffic congestion occasioned by the huge number of trucks that park along the two sides of the express road.
He noted that if urgent steps are not taken to decongest the area, “the tendency of continuous accident and traffic congestion along the express road remains eminent.”
Another beneficiary, Mrs. Chineye Uwa, commended Governor David Umahi for declaring a public holiday to honour the deceased and urged him to immortalise the Commissioner for his contribution to the development of the state.
Meanwhile, all the major markets, shops and other business centres within and outside Abakaliki metropolis complied strictly to the directive of the state government to observe today as public holiday in respect to the departed Commissioners.
Similarly, the State Christian Association of Nigeria has commenced a 3 day fasting and prayer session over the death of Engr Nweze and Engr Uche Okah.