The Senate Deputy Whip, Senator Abdullahi Sabi, has accused the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, of one sided in the allocation of resources for the construction of roads in the country .
The Deputy Senate Whip who sponsored a motion on deplorable state of roads in Niger State, especially the Bida-Lapai-Lambata Road, said that roads across the Niger state are in a shambles and they are not motorable.
Sabi’s motion is occasioned by the recent action by tanker drivers in Niger State who blocked all the major roads leading out of the town and prevented motorists from going out and coming of the town.
He said: “Agriculture activities are within the hinterland, especially Niger State where we have the largest landmass in this country. Anytime we talk about Infrastructure one of the lousy excuses we have is that we have four Presidents that come from that state but these are the few Presidents that have done well to other states. So don’t we deserve to have a good thing in our state?
“Our roads are in shambles and they are not motorable. So if the trailers decide to block Niger State roads, it’s not just to Niger State – it’s to the entire Northern Nigeria. Because if you look at the axis from Ilorin to Jeba, Mokwa, Tegina, Birin Gwari up to Kaduna to Kano and other parts of Northern Nigeria cities the roads on that side is the main road that contributes a lot and that road was constructed 30 or 40 years ago since around 1973 and nothing more.
“But we can see that from Abuja to Markudi, almost N56billion was allocated for that road and when you compare it to the road that we just mentioned, only N4.6 billion. So where’s the equity and what are the economic gains that come from this axis compared to the one coming from the Niger State axis? So I call on the Federal Government, especially the minister of works, to realise that Nigeria is a large country and need everyone to be taken seriously.
“The Minister of Works is one-sided. What we need in this country is equal opportunity for every sector. I don’t see the reason why other states will benefit from federal roads construction and Niger State will not have it. And I call on the Senate to do the needful. The budget is coming and we are going to raise this issue again.”