It was a day of joy and excitement in Abigborodo community of Delta State yesterday. Reason: people can now go to the community by road and, indeed, the one who made it possible – their son, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, had done so himself.

Dr. Uduaghan was expectedly infected with the emotion of the moment. He told reporters that the 11.5 km Abigborodo road, which has two completed bridges of 20 and 150 metres, will be ready for commissioning before the end of the year.

“The good thing is that at least one can drive through this bridge. For the very first time, especially for those of you who have been following me to the village when we have elections, we always go by boat,” an elated Uduaghan said.

“So this is the very first time we are going to the village by road. For me it is historical and very encouraging and I am so sentimental about it. A car has not been to Abigborodo before but with this bridge that is now a thing of the past and we are very happy,” he added.

The governor, who informed that the project linking Sapele and Warri North local government areas was 70 per cent completed, said it had gulped about N7.2 billion.

Addressing the people of the community, he announced that two Delta City buses will be allocated to the community for easy movement on the route.

Uduaghan was in Abigborodo to inspect the road and other ongoing projects, including the State Polytechnic, model primary and secondary schools. He directed the release of boats to the community that would convey students from nearby communities to schools in the town.

At the Alema secondary school in Abigborodo, the governor expressed unhappiness that students in the area were not making adequate use of the schools and announced that ‘edu-marshals’ would be deployed to the area to sensitise parents on the need to send their children to school.

He also directed top government officials from the riverine areas to join in the education crusade by going to their respective communities and create awareness on the importance of education.

It was commendation galore for the governor from the people of Abigborodo. A cross section of community members said that the road has started impacting positively on their socio-economic lives.

•Photo shows Governor Uduaghan.