Truck drivers stage protest in Niger over blocked Bida-Minna road

*Blocked road to open for heavy-duty vehicles after rehabilitation – Niger govt

SAKA BOLAJI, MINNA

Socio-economic activities were brought to standstill on Friday in Bida, Niger State as a result of the protest by drivers of articulated vehicles who blocked all entry roads into the ancient town.

The drivers, who used their vehicles to block major roads, however insisted that until Niger State government reopens Bida-Minna road, they would not suspend the protest.

It was gathered that the trailer drivers blamed the government who blocked Bida-Minna road for the past six months that have turned Bida-Lapai Lambata road a nightmare where they spent days before getting to their destinations.

A Bida resident, Sode Mohammed, who spoke on telephone, confirmed the development, and lamented over the current situation for motorists in Bida.

He said the entire roads into Bida have been blocked which include Gbazhi area before Emir’s Palace, Esso, and Siriku junction were all blocked including some street routes were also blocked by the residents due to influx of vehicles.

However, the Imager maker of the state police command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached as at the time of going to the press.

Meanwhile, the Niger State government has said that it would re-open the blocked Minna-Bida road to heavy-duty vehicles after completing the ongoing rehabilitation of the road.

Alhaji Muhammad Idris, the state Commissioner of Information and Strategy, made this known on Friday while briefing newsmen in Minna.

He said: “The Niger state government has so far committed a huge amount of money on the reconstruction of the Minna-Bida road, and the project is being handled by one of the best indigenous construction company to ensure we get the highest possible standard.

“As the reconstruction progresses, however, heavy-duty vehicles who constantly travel the road have been known to reverse recorded progress by damaging the section of the part of the road that has been fixed.

“This was what informed the decision by the Niger state government to close the road to heavy-duty vehicles. The tanker drivers in turn responded by taking the laws into their hands and blocking the Minna-Bida road entirely and Lambata-Lapai-Bida road, making it completely impossible for smaller vehicles to move.

“The Governor Abubakar Sani Bello administration is determined that the road construction must go on and as such, opening the Minna-Bida road to heavy-duty vehicles is not an option for now for that would destroy everything the government has done and tax payers’ money would be wasted redoing what was already done,” he said.

He appealed to the Federal Government to help the people of the state and the country by fixing the trunk “A” Lambata-Lapai-Bida road and Jenna-Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road to resolve the issue of heavy duty vehicles regularly damaging the Minna-Bida road.

“As it stands today, the entire stretch of the entire roads in Niger state are suffering because of these heavy-duty vehicles.

“Only a few months ago, these same vehicles completely destroyed the Minna-Zungeru road, they have also destroyed the Bida-Zungeru road and are now looking to destroy the work ongoing on Minna-Bida road.

“The state government will not allow that,” he said.

The Commissioner explained that the state was the gateway between the North and South-West, saying that, “It hosts the highest stretch of federal roads in the country, yet the federal roads in the state have been mostly neglected.

“The state government continues to expend limited resources on trunk “A” roads even when it’s also faced with several challenges that are primarily its duty in the governance of Niger state.”

He called on the federal government to intervene and complement the state government in building road infrastructure across the state.

“Instead of the state government to earmark more money for the rehabilitation of trunk “A” roads, with a backlog of other responsibilities of the state waiting for intervention, all stakeholders must join hands to appeal to the federal government to understand the conditions of the roads.

“There is no denying the setbacks brought forth by the deteriorated state of these roads.

“The state has quite limited resources and so there is no better time to draw the attention of the federal government to intervene than now,” he said.