Rapid population growth and expanding economic activities in Amagba community, Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, have triggered fresh moves to close two major infrastructure gaps — a functional market and improved access to policing.
Senator Neda Imasuen, representing Edo South Senatorial District, on Thursday broke ground for an ultra-modern market in the community while announcing plans to facilitate the construction of a police station.
The market project, being executed as a federal constituency intervention, will provide about 30 lock-up shops and 40 open stores, creating space for traders and bringing basic commodities closer to residents.
Imasuen said the intervention followed growing concerns over the difficulty residents face in travelling outside the community to buy everyday necessities.
He said Amagba had expanded significantly in recent years, making the absence of basic commercial infrastructure increasingly difficult to ignore.
“What prompted me to embark on this project is because, looking at this community, it’s a huge one, it’s a very large community. They really don’t have certain basic amenities. One of those is the market, which I think the women need for their businesses,” the senator said.
But the development challenge, he noted, goes beyond commerce.
Imasuen said the community also urgently needs a police station because residents currently rely on the Ugbor Police Station, around Benson Idahosa University, for police services.
“There’s no police station in Amagba at all,” he said, warning that the distance could pose difficulties when residents require urgent police intervention.
The proposed police station, according to the senator, is expected to serve Amagba as well as adjoining communities without adequate access to police services.
“Amagba has come of age and the population has increased tremendously. Even the economic activities have also picked up. And so we need a police station to be able to address the needs of the people around here,” he said.
The twin interventions effectively place economic activity and community security at the centre of the senator’s latest constituency projects.
The Project Manager, Engr. Hassan Bakr Shugaba, promised that the market would be completed within one month, raising expectations among residents and traders for an early take-off of commercial activities at the site.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by community leaders, including representatives of the Amagba Landlords Association and the Odionwere of the community.
Chairman of the Amagba Landlords Association, Dr Vincent Abah, acknowledged that several amenities were still lacking in the community but described the market project as an important first step.
“Many amenities are lacking here. But the first thing is taking the first step which Senator Imasuen has taken,” Abah said.
The Odionwere of Amagba, Pa Joseph Iduoriyekemwen, JP, also commended the intervention and appealed for further development projects as the community continues to grow.
With the market expected to provide new trading spaces and the proposed police station aimed at shortening the distance to security services, the interventions are designed to respond to the changing needs of an increasingly populated Amagba.