Paiko-Lapai Road: Niger State Govt Issues 72hrs Notice Of Closure For Articulated Vehicles
It may be recalled that on September 15th, 2020, the Niger State Government closed down Minna-Bida road to heavy duty vehicles to allow room for the reconstruction of the road.
The decision became necessary after State Government spent so much resources with the objective of rehabilitating the road but unfortunately, the over 2500 articulated vehicles plying the road daily reversed the gains made resulting in a waste of expended resources.
It may also be recalled that Minna-Zungeru, Lapai-Paiko roads were closed alongside Minna-Bida road but after continuous pressure from Federal Government with a promise to fix the Lambata-Bida road, the State Government agreed to open the state-owned part of the Zungeru road. As predicted, in less than a month of opening, the road itself became un-motorable as it moved from manageable to completely unusable. For over a year, the State Government waited for Lambata-Bida to be fixed and nothing was done until only recently, precisely on the 24th September 2021.
After tanker drivers blocked the Lambata axis of the Minna-Suleja road and Bida axis of Bida-Lambata road in protest of bad roads, again the State Government was invited by the Federal Ministry of Works, this time assuring the Niger State Government that remedial measures would be carried out on the critical sections of the Lambata-Bida road but that the contractor could not move equipment to site, citing the road blockade as impediment. The State Government agreed to temporarily open Paiko-Lapai road to enable the contractor move equipment to site.
More than two weeks has now passed but no work has been seen to be going on the Lambata-Bida road.
Meanwhile, the State Government has awarded Lapai-Paiko road and the contractor has moved to site. But seeing as these articulated vehicles in their thousands are constantly plying the road, the State Government cannot be unmindful of the accompanying result of this situation. The road in the last two weeks has now gone from bad to worse while the contractor cannot work optimally.
In light of the above, the Niger State Government is issuing a 72-hour notice to all stakeholders that, starting from today, the 11th day of October 2021, the Lapai-Paiko road would be closed on Wednesday, the 13th of your October to allow the contractor room to function optimally and deliver result in a timely manner and to the highest possible standard.
Signed
Muhammad Sani Idris
Commisioner of Information and Strategy
Niger State.
