By Nsan Ndima-Neji, Calabar
Protesting youths from five local government areas of Ikom, Etung, Boki, Obudu and Obanlikwu in Cross River State have launched a one‑week warning strike, demanding that both state and federal authorities immediately mobilize construction equipment to repair the long‑abandoned Ikom‑Obudu highway.
The protest, which began on Monday and ended on Friday, 13 February 2026, was led by Chief Dr. Martins Assam, the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN leader of Abo ward, under the banner ‘No Road, No Election.’
Assam averred that the ‘Plan A’ phase of the action has already been completed.
He said, “If the government fails to bring machinery to site within the one‑week ultimatum, we will move to Plan B, which will be far more rigorous and could cripple revenue collection and economic activities along the corridor.”
Calling on Governor Bassey Otu, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and federal legislators, Senators Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, Eteng Williams and member of the House of Representatives from the area, Victor Abang to intervene and rehabilitate the road, Assam described the the road as a “death trap” that has claimed many lives over the past 40 years.
Speaking also on the issue, Youth Leader, Ben Takon added that the communities are not asking for jobs or electricity, but simply a safe road to transport crops and sick residents to Ikom General Hospital when the need arise.
He said, “Our governor should borrow a leaf from the governor of Abia State, who is busy fixing roads in his state on daily basis.”
He emphasized that should the ultimatum expire without any tangible effort at work in the road, all toll collection points on the highway will be shut down, resulting in a total lockdown of revenue streams for the government and vehicular movement.
Local motorist Mr. Andrew Takim, recounted a personal tragedy, noting that his family lost a pregnant wife while attempting to reach the hospital from Abo community in Boki Local Government Area of the state.
He lamented, “If we had an accessible road, she would still be alive.”
The youths have also threatened to halt the movement of any corpses through the highway, warning that they will divert bodies to a mortuary for embalment if the road remains impassable.
As tension continues to mounts, community members await a decisive response from authorities to avert further escalation.
