By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Federal Government has assured residents of Niger State that work will soon resume on the Bida-Lapai-Lambata road project, following growing concerns over its poor condition, insecurity and accidents along the corridor.
The assurance came after the Minister of Works, David Umahi, met with stakeholders from Niger South led by the member representing Bida/Gbako/Katcha Federal Constituency, Sa’idu Musa-Abdullahi, in Abuja.
The stakeholders urged the government to urgently intervene, saying the abandoned project has disrupted economic activities and exposed communities to security risks.
Chairman of the Bida Forum, Muhammad Jameel-Muhammad, called for emergency repairs to make the road passable while awaiting full construction.
He also asked the ministry to mobilise the contractor to site within two months and include community representatives in a monitoring team.
“We want to see something on ground in the next two months — mobilisation to site and the contractor working,” Muhammad said.
He added that residents wanted action rather than another political promise on the long-delayed project.
Receiving the delegation on Umahi’s behalf, the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, commended Abdullahi for pushing for the completion of the road.
Goronyo said Umahi was committed to fulfilling the pledge and would not make promises without taking action.
Umahi later said pressure from stakeholders, including Abdullahi, the Niger State governor, the Minister of Information and Senator Musa, prompted him to seek President Bola Tinubu’s intervention.
According to him, he told the President that completing the road would help address insecurity along the corridor.
“President said, if we do it, it will help, and the insecurity within that corridor will be eliminated,” Umahi said.
The minister also disclosed that several major road projects were ongoing in Niger State through tax-credit financing, including two recently awarded projects.
He said Niger State remained one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s tax-credit programme.
Umahi attributed rising road construction costs to the removal of fuel subsidy and the naira’s floating exchange rate, saying construction costs had risen sharply compared with previous years.
He assured Nigerians that the Tinubu administration remained committed to funding roads and bridges across the country.
“Every part of this country became a construction site,” Umahi said.
