Erosion has cut off the access road to the palace of the traditional ruler of Ebu Kingdom, HRM Paul Opili, Onu UmukorJordu II, in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, leaving the monarch and hundreds of residents trapped.
Pupils of Ubueni Primary School, students of Ebu Grammar School, and nurses at the Primary Health Centre, which shares a perimeter fence with the palace, are also affected. Many can no longer access their schools and workplaces.
Investigations show the road project, identified as the Ilo–Ebu Grammar School Road, was awarded in 2023 to Technology Partners International Nigeria Limited by the administration of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
The contractor abandoned the project in a critical condition, leaving a half-completed drainage that has since collapsed.
The monarch, speaking with his Council of Chiefs when Prince Ohai, an aspirant for Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, visited the palace, lamented years of unfulfilled promises and poor representation.
“For decades, erosion has been a problem in my kingdom. We are gradually being cut off from the rest of the state,” Opili said.
“Even the federal road linking this axis to Abuja has been badly damaged by heavy-duty vehicles. Now, I am trapped. The gutter they abandoned halfway has collapsed.
“If the palace road is in a terrible shape, you can imagine how other roads within the kingdom will look like. I’m practically caged. School children, parents, guardians, and their teachers can no longer access their school and workplace.”
Ohai, who is contesting on the platform of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, said the time for political experimentation was over. “Aniocha/Oshimili deserves better representation,” he said.
“I represent the 7th geopolitical zone in Nigeria—the diaspora new political order founded on competence, vision, and progressive leadership. We can no longer afford the burden of mediocrity and recycled promises.
The time for transformational leadership has arrived.” He added that with political courage, administrative capacity, grassroots connection, and bold advocacy, the interests of the constituents could be genuinely advanced.
