Niger urges FG to complete Suleja-Minna road before raining season
Niger state government has called on the Federal Government to expedite action and ensure the completion of the Suleja – Minna road project before the raining season.
The state commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa, stated this on Tuesday in a statement issued in Minna, the state capital.
He said that the state government was concerned over the delay in the completion of the road adding that the road will be worse and completely impassable if the rains cut up with it in its present condition.
He said that the excuse by the federal government that the Minna Airport was not chosen as alternative to the closed Abuja Airport due to the bad condition of Suleja – Minna road was not tenable because the presidency would have deployed more hands to ensure the completion of the project within two to three weeks.
He said the state government is “more concerned and worried that the work on the Suleja – Minna road is at a very slow speed and it would be difficult for motorists to ply the road as it is now during raining season.
It is therefore imperative for the Niger state government to call on the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatude Fasola, to give priority to the completion of the projects before the rains set in”.
Vatsa said that with the considerable level of support from Governor Abubakar Sani Bello in ensuring that the road project was successfully completed speedily, the works on ground was not still encouraging and that there was the need for the contractors to hasten up work.
He argued that the Minna Airport would have been more convenient for travelers when the Abuja Airport is closed for repairs because of its proximity to the capital city adding that when the road is fixed it takes only about 1hour drive to get to Abuja from the Minna Airport.
He stressed the need for the federal government to open up the Minna International Airport to commercial and cargo flights in complementing the Abuja Airport as was envisaged in the policy that established it.
