Residents of Agge in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State are stranded after the only earthen road linking their community to the rest of the state completely washed away following weeks of heavy rainfall.
The road, which had been in a state of disrepair for years, became completely impassable after floodwaters eroded the laterite foundation, cutting off the community of over 4,000 people from access to markets, hospitals, and schools.
Community leader Chief Tonbra Ayemi told Naija Delta Voice: Our children cannot go to school. Pregnant women who need hospital care must be carried by canoe through the creeks for hours. People are dying because of this road.
The community has written to the Bayelsa State Ministry of Works, the Niger Delta Development Commission, and their federal representative -- none of whom have responded with action.
Environmental groups note that Agge is not unique. Dozens of riverine communities in Bayelsa and Delta states remain completely cut off from road infrastructure, relying entirely on water transport that becomes dangerous during storm season.
Residents are calling on the NDDC to honour a 2019 pledge to construct an asphalt road connecting Agge to the Sagbama highway -- a project that was awarded but never commenced.
