By Bonaventure Melah

Although the federal government is currently working on the Onitsha-Enugu expressway, one of the major interconnectivity roads in South East, concerns have continued to mount over the presence of over 32 checkpoints along the expressway which, observers say, are constitution serious barrier to smooth movement of persons and goods, thereby defeating the objective of reconstructing the road, in the first place.

Below is the list of the 32 security checkpoints along Onitsha- Enugu expressway:

1. Army Gate Onitsha
2. Nkwelle Junction
3. Awkuzu Junction Army
4. Awkuzu Junction FRSC
5. Dunukofia LG hqts Police
6. Enugwu-Ukwu Junction Police
7. Amawbia Junction Police
8. Unizik Junction Army
9. Mopol base Awka Junction Police
10. Prince and Princess hostel front army
11. Amansea boundary Police
12. Ugwuoba boundary Police
13. Ugwuoba bridge police team
14. Ugwuoba Junction Army
15. Ugwuoba Junction NDLEA
16. Ugwuoba Junction FRSC
17. Ugwuoba Central Army
18. Oji River Junction Army 1
19. Oji River Junction Army 2
20. Ezeagu express Army
21. Near Nkwo ezeagu Police
22. Near tiles factory Police
23. Umumba Ndiuno express Police 1
24. Umumba Ndiuno express Police 2
25. 9th Mile Checkpoint
26. Nude express (approach to ninth mile) Police
27. Ngwo express Army
28. Ngwo express anti terror squad
29. Onyeama Hill (near refuse dump) Army
30 Onyeama Hill (near coal mine) Army
31. Abakpa Interchange Police
32. Abakpa Junction FRSC.

Note: A traveller moving just 105 KM from Onitsha to Enugu will endure will have to endure this nightmare. A journey that should ordinarily take about 40 mins therefore ends within 3 hours.

Approximately, it stands at a ratio of one checkpoint after every 3.7 km. This is in addition to heavy extortion motorists face from the security operatives stationed at the checkpoints.

Source: Dr Amaka Oforbuike.

42 people have been killed in fighting between ethnic groups in the east of Chad, a government official said Sunday.

Government delegate said the clashes Saturday in the sub-prefecture of Guereda in Wadi Fira province began as a dispute over a water well.

Several ministers, senior local officials, and the military’s chief of staff were dispatched to the scene on Sunday.

“The situation is under control and remains so,” Limane Mahamat, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, said on the state broadcaster.

For several years, eastern Chad has been plagued by conflicts between farmers and nomadic Arab herders. Tensions have been exacerbated by refugees fleeing fighting in neighbouring Sudan.

Conflicts over farm and grazing land have caused more than a thousand deaths and 2,000 injuries between 2021 and 2024, according to estimates by the NGO International Crisis Group.

Nigeria’s leading private sector employer of labour, Dangote Group is set to create additional 95,000 jobs through the ongoing expansion of Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Aliko Dangote, the President of the Group, announced this, saying the expansion to a production capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day will generate employment for no fewer than 95,000 skilled workers at peak construction.

Dangote disclosed this on Saturday in Lagos during his induction as an honorary fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, describing the project as a major milestone in Nigeria’s industrial transformation.

According to him, the expansion underscores the group’s continued commitment to engineering excellence, job creation, and sustainable economic growth.

“This award is particularly meaningful because it recognises what we are doing in the industry, especially our commitment to employing engineers and skilled professionals. At the peak of construction for this expansion, we expect to have about 95,000 skilled workers on site, and we will continue to grow,” Dangote said.

Upon completion, Dangote said the expanded refinery will surpass the Jamnagar refinery in India to become the largest refinery in the world, significantly strengthening Nigeria’s refining capacity.

Dangote noted that the project would rely heavily on Nigerian expertise, creating substantial opportunities for engineers, technicians, artisans, and other skilled professionals. He added that the expansion reflects the group’s long-term vision for industrialisation in Nigeria and across Africa.

Beyond employment generation, the refinery said the expansion is expected to stimulate local manufacturing, enhance technology transfer, and deepen Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain.

It will also improve fuel security, reduce dependence on imported petroleum products, and deliver significant foreign exchange savings for the Nigerian economy.

“The scale of this expansion reflects our confidence in Nigerian capacity and our belief that Africa has the ability to build world-class infrastructure that meets global standards,” Dangote stated.

In his remarks, the President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Prof Rahamon Bello, described the honour as well-deserved, noting that Dangote’s impact transcends physical infrastructure.

“What makes this recognition fitting is not only what has been built but also what has been inspired. Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s journey continues to motivate a new generation of engineers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to think boldly, act decisively, and believe in the immense possibilities within our continent,” Bello said.