History Beckons On Stanley Mbam And Dave Umahi: Extend The Tarred Road Beyond Iyahe To Oju And Unlock Food Supplies Potentials
The Oasis Reporters
March 18, 2025
Four weeks ago, I was on a road trip to some parts of Nigeria that I had previously never been to and it was easy for me to see a gaping need that two Nigerian patriots are historically placed to fill in the destiny of Nigeria’s South East and the Middle Belt. They may not have realized it.
This two patriots are no strangers to each other.
Engineers Dave Umahi, Nigeria’s current Minister of Works and Stanley Lebechi Mbam, the current Commissioner for Works in Ebonyi State. Both Engineers are Ebonyi State born.
While Dave Umahi was born in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Stanley Lebechi Mbam is from Abakaliki LGA of Izzi Clan in the same Ebonyi State.
As then governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi picked Stanley Lebechi Mbam as his Works Commissioner.
In a Sunday Sun newspaper report by Magnus Eze in Enugu, we now know that Stanley Lebechi Mbam, an engineer, who retained his portfolio as Commissioner for Works in Ebonyi State in the current regime of the Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru played a prominent role in the development of infrastructure in the state by the immediate past administration of Chief David Umahi, especially roads.
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Therefore if you watch an old viral video on the Internet depicting Dave Umahi in a sound off boast directed at the Current FCT minister, Nyesom Wike that if Wike commissioned a slightly short flyover, he would have commissioned a ten times more interconnected flyover than that, or roads with less money. Here’s unveiling who his engine room workaholic man was.
Stanley spoke to The Sunday Sun in February on the road projects of the present Nwifuru administration, demolition of buildings and payment of compensation at the Vanco area for the flyover project; and rural roads among others.
Excerpts:
The government has run for over a year and half, what has your ministry done?
. Stanley Lebechi Mbam first, appreciated the opportunity given to him by the governor of Ebonyi State to serve in his administration.
“In my ministry, in accordance with the People’s Charter of Needs manifesto of the governor in line 17 and 19 where infrastructure is captured, my ministry has been posed with so much responsibility in terms of infrastructural development which we have done a lot within one year and seven months of.
“So far, so good and we have been able to rehabilitate some of our internal roads. We have moved ahead to expand our rural roads and we have expanded our capital city through construction of some roads including the Mile 50 New Layout and we have completed about 4km roads there. We have also constructed the road that leads to the water scheme, the facility that distributes water to the capital which has been in dilapidation for several years. That road is about 3km. We have also constructed the one that links Ishielu water scheme. We have also constructed the Agbaja-Ndiebor road, and Ebia Unuphu road which is 11.5km. We have constructed Ogbaga/Nwofe road which is about 24km. In Ezillo, we are constructing about 31km road there which is going on smoothly. We are also constructing road in Okposi, Uburu, Edda. In Okposi, we are constructing a road that links Enugu which is over 12km. There is another one from there to Ugwulangwu which is about 7km. We are also doing Oriuzor/Onueke road which is about 13km and work is going on there. We have completed first phase of Obvudechi road, we are constructing Oferekpe/Iziogo road. We have other jobs that are springing up day by day and as I speak to you, we have flagged off construction of 23km Umuogudu Oshia/NIGERCEM road. All the communities in Ebonyi State are receiving 2km road intervention. At Vanco Junction, we have a twin flyover and tunnel and work is going on progressively there now. We believe that with the mindset of our dear governor, we are moving to the second phase of urban renewal programme of this administration as we just entered 2025 to upgrade our urban city. If it didn’t start this January, it will start on second week of February. So far, so good, these are our achievements”.
Quite impressive. Doing good works on lean budgeting. Hardly the kind of story that you can hear from a state like Benue. Especially if it concerns other non Tiv tribal areas. Even some of the Tiv areas suffer neglect but they still have hope. Unlike Idoma (second largest ethnic group in Benue State) and Igede lands (third largest ethnic group in Benue).
Those non Tiv tribal areas have no hope in hell of ever getting developed. Since the creation of Benue State, mainly governed exclusively by Tiv political bigwigs, there’s no single tarred road in all of Igede land. These are about three large local governments.
All that they have are earth roads and bush tracks. I saw only one tarred road in the whole of Idoma land and that was in Otukpo, a road named after David Mark. Nigeria’s one time Senate President which we understand was his Constituency project.
Whereas the two distinct tribes of Idoma and Igede lands are major food producers. Much of their food products often rot every year due to an absence of a road network for food merchants to come for evacuation to needed markets.
Engr. Stanley Lebechi Mbam happens to be Izzi local government born, and that is on the boundary between Benue State and Ebonyi State. The closest Benue State local government to Izzi local government in Ebonyi State is the much despised, most underdeveloped Oju local government in Benue State, a major food producing area.
Their foodstuffs rot always because transportation into the area is almost impossible. The easiest means of movement under the most torturous conditions ever seen in Nigeria, are motorbikes.
Each night, Igede men and women cast glances at Iyahe, where the tarred road from Abakaliki stops.
I asked a citizen of Igede land to describe movement in an out of his tribal area to me:
“You cannot get any regular means of commercial transportation if you are coming from the Iyahe side into Igede land, unless you are coming in your private vehicle. Coming from the Iyahe side, the tarred road stops at Iyahe in Ebonyi State”.
I had asked the gentleman to describe how I could get to Oju local government through Onitsha, instead of passing through the longer and even much more torturous way that I had come in through in February.
He further added: “The other option is through Otukpo, but the good tarred road stops at Otukpo”.
I wasn’t looking forward to that experience after what I went through before because I had journeyed from Ibadan to Okene in Kogi State through Igalaland.
The tarred road stopped at the Prince Abubakar Audu University town of Anyingba.
It was real unimaginable torture to move on the dusty bad road from Anyingba to Ankpa, both Igala towns.
All through to Otukpo in Idoma land in Benue State, it were as if no government exists in Benue State. Virtually no development, yet you see officials collecting tolls from hapless farmers and subsistence market women in villages. As if they were still in the 17th century way of life.
How come that the neighboring Ebonyi State with no oil revenues are constructing roads and flyovers, yet it seems governance in the state is in slumber?
Now, I believe that there is something that Commissioner Stanley Lebechi Mbam can do, and he can be assisted by Dave Umahi.
Extend the road network by tarring the road from where it ended at Iyahe in Izzi local government area to the exact boundary with Oju local government.
Dave Umahi can ensure that the Road is extended through Igede land and Idoma lands to meet the end of the tarred road at Anyingba if it is a federal road.
Even if there were no further road construction activities beyond the Iyahe tarred road to the Benue boundary, here’s what it will unlock.
Set up an international food stuff market at Iyahe. Igede and Idoma folks would have easier by pushing their trucks and wheelbarrows of foodstuffs to the Iyahe International foodstuffs market that would have a lorry Park, and through Ebonyi State, Food would be much more available in Nigeria instead of Yams, Cassava, fruits, just name it, rotting on Igede and Idoma lands due to government lack of capacity or embedded and inherent wickedness and selfishness.
History beckons, Stanley Lebechi Mbam. Dave Umahi. Please do something. It’s Ebonyi and Nigeria that matter.
Oju is a local government area in Benue State, Nigeria. It borders Obi and Gwer East in the north, Konshisha and Yala in the east, Izzi and Ebonyi in the south, and Ado in the west. As of 2022, its total population ws 243,300 and 1168km² in size.
.Oju land is very fertile and about 80% of the inhabitants are farmers. Its rich and diverse agricultural endowment include: yam, rice, beniseed, guinea corn, palm, soya beans, cassava, millet, maize, groundnut, and palm oil.
The economy is dependent on agriculture (food and cash crops) produced in commercial quantity.
The people of Oju are also involved in: Livestock keeping, Fishing, and Hunting.
Greg Abolo
gregabolo@gmail.com
