The House of Representatives has expressed concerns over the life-threatening state of the Suleija-Lambata-Bida road in Niger State and called for immediate action on the part of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency.
The House said the federal agencies to immediately deploy and resources to complement the efforts of Niger State Government which has so far constituted a Task Force to alleviate the situation and restore the free flow of traffic.
This followed a resolution at plenary arising from a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by the ten lawmakers from Niger state led by Saidu Musa Abdullahi (APC, Niger).
The House wants the Ministry of Works to conduct an emergency assessment of the condition of the road, engage the contractor handling the project to ascertain reasons for delay in execution in a bid to proffer long-term solutions to prevent future occurrences.
They also want the Ministry to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including Niger State Government, Security Agencies, and Transport Unions to ensure sustained effective traffic management.
Abdullahi said for six days in a roll, there has been an unprecedented 18-kilometer gridlock between Lambata and Suleja which has crippled the flow of traffic on Suleja-Lambata-Bida highway in Niger State, holding vehicles – tankers, lorries, trucks, and trailers – and motorists hostage.
He said the road is one of the busiest and most critical federal highways in the nation connecting and facilitating the movement of people, goods, and services, including essential and perishable items between Northern and Western States.
According to him, the gridlock is caused by some major potholes along Maje to Dikko Junction, a key artery to the nation’s capital city, Abuja.
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He disclosed that in light of this situation, small vehicles on emergency journeys have been compelled to take alternative bushy routes via Izom to Suleja; a route fraught with security threats.
He expressed concern that the current situation has resulted in huge losses in valuable man-hours, impacted negatively on perishable goods especially Agricultural produce posing severe implications on the economy of the nation and has also heightened the risk of accidents and has made the area prone to criminal activities, thereby compromising the safety of commuters and residents alike.
He said road users have been subjected to hunger, poor health condition and untold hardship due to their inability to access quality food, healthcare and transport themselves and goods effectively;
He said that available reports have it that a corpse was discovered abandoned along this alternative route on Wednesday, adding that the ugly situation poses a serious threat to national security and the well-being of Nigerian citizens;
He acknowledged that the Federal Government awarded the contract for the reconstruction and dualization of the first phase of this vital road since 2010 and the second phase in 2015 but even efforts to provide alternative funding through the Presidential Tax Credit Scheme has not yielded the desired result as the pace of work has been alarmingly slow.