A Bill for a Law to establish the Anambra State Rural Access Roads Agency for the overall management, development, rehabilitation, reconstruction and maintenance of Class C and D roads in the State has passed second reading at the Anambra State House of Assembly.
The proposed legislation seeks to improve rural access, strengthen transport infrastructure, and enhance agricultural marketing across communities in the state, while leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, the Majority Leader of the House, Sir Ikenna Ofodeme, said that the establishment of the agency would ensure a coordinated and sustainable approach to the maintenance of rural roads, which he described as critical to economic growth, especially in agrarian communities.
Contributing to the debate, the member representing Aguata Constituency One, Honourable Anayo Okpalaeke; his Dunukofia Constituency counterpart, Honourable Chuks Azotani and the member representing Anaocha Constituency Two, Honourable Ejike Okechukwu, among others, described the bill as timely and development-driven, emphasizing that improved rural roads would boost commerce, reduce post-harvest losses, and enhance security in remote areas.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the House, Right Honourable Somtochukwu Udeze, recalled that a similar agency exists at the federal level, which is Federal Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project RAAMP, which is operational in Anambra and other parts of the country, focusing on rural road development and agricultural market access.
