Motorists and commuters plying the busy Lokoja-Ajaokuta road from the Northwest to the Eastern parts of the country and vice versa, are daily groaning about a bad part of the road.
The portion of the road, which has become a death-trap for many road users over the years, spans from the Geregu Power Plant in Ajaokuta down to the Niger Bridge (Itobe Bridge) end of the road.
In February 2015, contract for the rehabilitation of the entire stretch of the Okene-Ajaokuta-Itobe road was awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing. The road project, with contract number 06260, was awarded to SCOA Nigeria Plc, and was to last for a duration of 18 months.
The contract was supposed to cover the reconstruction of the dual carriageway, from Geregu Power Plant end of the Lokoja-Ajaokuta road, down to the Niger Bridge end at Itobe. Also, the stretch of road from Ajaokuta-Adogo-Okene, which had equally remained in a deplorable condition for several years.
However, five years after the contract was awarded, nothing much has been done on the roads, thus leaving commuters and motorists traveling on it to go through harrowing experiences on a daily basis.
On regular basis, dozens of articulated and heavy-duty vehicles conveying goods, such as grains, vegetables, fruits, livestock, agricultural products, building materials and a host of others products, pass through the road, thus worsening its condition.
A motorist and pioneer chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Ibrahim Obansa, said it was embarrassing and unfortunate for that portion of the Ajaokuta road to have deteriorated to that level when there was still a government in place. He appealed to the federal government to find urgent solution to the road, particularly during this period.
A youth leader in Ajaokuta, Bello Abdulmalik, called for federal government’s urgent attention. “This road has been in this deplorable condition for over 20 years. Since when I was a small boy. In times past, we have heard that budgetary allocations were made for the road, but we never saw any work done. Lucky enough, about four years ago, we saw that project for the road rehabilitation was awarded to SCOA company. We were very excited about it. They started the work but unfortunately, they didn’t go far before they abandoned it. Where they even began from, they couldn’t complete. They were to do the road from Niger Bridge to Okene but they didn’t go far before the work slowed down.
“We don’t enjoy the road at all, especially if you are going to Okene. Before, it takes you about 30 minutes from Ajaokuta to Okene when the road was good, but now it takes you almost two hours to make the same journey. Drivers charge us double the normal fare because of the bad road. Only a few drivers agree to ply the route. Trailers always have accidents, especially during rainy season. It is only during dry season that the motorists have some respite. We want the federal government to assist us in fixing it so as to help save lives. We have been voting all the years and we need to enjoy the needed dividends of democracy. We want to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to do something urgent because we here in Ajaokuta voted massively for him during the last election. We will be very happy if he can assist,” he said.
A driver, Abdulrahman Rauf, who was traveling through the road from Ilorin heading towards Taraba described his experience as “hellish”.
Daily Trust Saturday’s findings revealed that for many decades, the condition of that
particular portion of the road has remained in deplorable condition and has continued to deteriorate. When contacted, Federal Controller of Works, Kogi Field Office, Engr Jimoh
Olatunde Kajogbola, said the contractor handling the project has not been living up to expectations and that the process for termination of the contract was already on.
“The federal government awarded the contract over five years ago but the contractor is not performing. The process for the termination of the contract and how to recover funds already paid to the firm is ongoing by the legal department of the ministry at the headquarters, Abuja, after which it can be re-awarded to another firm,” he said.
Credit: Daily Trust
