Judiciary workers in Ughelli, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, have lamented the prolonged delay in rehabilitating a section of road leading to the court premises, saying the deplorable condition continues to cause hardship for judges, magistrates, lawyers, court officials and litigants.
The workers expressed disappointment that the rehabilitation of the road had yet to be completed, four months after the Ughelli North Local Government Council reportedly assured the court that the project would be delivered within one month.
A senior judiciary worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the council, in a memo issued to the court in June, indicated that the damaged portion of the road would be rehabilitated within a month.
However, the worker said the promise had remained unfulfilled, despite the relatively short distance involved.
“Four months after the assurance, the road remains in a deplorable condition, making access to the court premises increasingly difficult.
“In a few days, we will be in November, yet this road, which is barely 100 metres long, has not been completed. It is difficult to understand why such a short stretch of road should take this long,” the source said.
The worker expressed further disappointment that the project had dragged on despite being under the supervision of the local government council.
“The council chairman is a lawyer, and we expected that he would have used his position and understanding of the importance of the judiciary to ensure that the job was completed promptly,” the source added.
According to the worker, the poor condition of the road has continued to subject judicial officers, legal practitioners and other court users to avoidable difficulties, particularly those who visit the premises daily for official engagements and court proceedings.
The source noted that the delay had become a source of concern, especially given the earlier commitment by the council to complete the work within the stipulated period.
The judiciary worker stressed that an accessible road was essential to the effective administration of justice, adding that the current state of the affected portion could discourage convenient access to the court premises.
The workers, therefore, appealed to the contractor handling the project and the Ughelli North Local Government Council to urgently address the situation and ensure that the rehabilitation was completed without further delay.
They maintained that prompt completion of the project would ease the movement of court users, reduce the hardship associated with accessing the facility and demonstrate the council’s commitment to fulfilling its earlier promise.
