Umuaka News24

By News24 Correspondent | Umuaka, Imo State

After years of government neglect left the A-Line axis of Afor-Umuaka Market road in ruins, High Chief Chidi Appear Osuagwu Akuagbaranawnu, popularly known as Chief Appear, has intervened with a ₦300,000 donation to fill the damaged stretch with red sand, restoring temporary access for residents and traders.

The section had become virtually impassable, riddled with deep potholes and erosion that disrupted the movement of goods and people to one of Umuaka’s busiest commercial hubs. With no immediate action from authorities, Chief Appear funded the emergency repairs himself, spreading red sand to make the road motorable again.

“This is not a permanent solution, but it’s what the people need right now to keep trade and daily life going,” a local trader at Afor-Umuaka told News24. “We’ve been abandoned for too long.”

The Afor-Umuaka-Amazano-Ezioha-Mbaitoli-Ukwu-Orji road serves as a vital link between Afor-Umuaka Market and several neighboring Local Government Areas, including Mbaitoli, Isu, Nkwerre and Nwangele. In December 2024, the Imo State House of Assembly passed a motion describing the route as being in a “deplorable condition” that has caused severe economic losses, insecurity and hardship for traders, especially those transporting containerized goods to the market.

Despite the motion, reconstruction has been delayed, leaving community members and philanthropists to shoulder the burden.

Chief Appear’s red sand intervention is only the latest in his series of charitable acts in Umuaka. He recently donated ₦1,000,000 to the Umuaka Charity Foundation’s ₦50 million youth empowerment program and ₦700,000 to cover the surgery of a 15-year-old orphan and recently donated ₦500,000 for an Akalite who’s stranded in Pakistan and so many other community donations that’s too much to mention.

A Lagos-based businessman and Ibele-born Akalite, Chief Appear has earned a reputation for channeling his personal resources into community development without boundaries. He was named _Umuaka Peoples Assembly ’ Most Outstanding Philanthropist and man of the Year in 2024/2025.

While residents have praised Chief Appear’s gesture, many are urging the Imo State government and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to expedite the permanent reconstruction of the A-Line and other bad roads in Umuaka.

Ongoing state projects like the Ukwuorji-Nwaorieubi Road reconstruction offer some hope, but A-Line remains a priority for immediate attention.

For now, Chief Appear’s ₦300,000 contribution has kept the market road open and given traders a temporary reprieve — a small but significant act of leadership in the face of infrastructural decay.

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