From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
For more than eight years, the Koko-Mahuta -Dabai road, which is said to be federal has been a death trap to many travelers. The 87-kilometer road has been politicised in the state in their bids to solicit support from the electorate.
A journey from Koko town to Mahuta -Dabai that used to be one and half hour’s drive now lasts for over three hours depending on the condition and nature of the vehicles plying the road due to the terrible condition of the road.
Daily Sun gathered that the people of Zuru Emirate in Kebbi South Senatorial district would rather shift their support to any political party that could mobilize resources to reconstruct the road. At different fora, the governor of Kebbi State, Dr. Nasir Idris had accused the elite and politicians from the axis of frustrating his efforts to get the road contract revoked and re-awarded the same to a competent contractor to handle it.
The Zuru Emirate which is comprised of the Kebbi South Senatorial district is represented in the Senate by an opposition party, PDP Senator, Garba Musa Maidoki. However, the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) is now working hard to extend dividends of democracy to the people of the areas, including rapid construction of the Koko-Mahuta -Dabai road. Political analysts believe that the successful construction of the road by the APC-led state and central government will serve as a masterstroke for the party ahead of the 2027 general election. They say in appreciation, the Zuru Emirate and the entire Kebbi South Senatorial district may reciprocate by voting the APC in 2027.
During the Uhola cultural festival, Governor Idris, while addressing stakeholders at the annual cultural event, assured that he would do his best to ensure that the contract for the road was revoked and re-awarded and constructed by his administration. He appealed to the people of Kebbi South to join hands with his administration to enable him to deliver the desired dividends of democracy to the area.
“I knew it was a Federal Government road, and I wrote severally for the revocation of the road. However, maybe some people are playing politics with the road,” he lamented
The governor, expressed worry over the state of the road, saying he is committed to deliver on it even if it was going to be the only project he would do for the people of Zuru Emirate. “I will ensure that I do it so that later, the Federal Government can pay me back”, he said.
The governor’s prayers, has however been answered as the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Works had directed its Officers to commence processes of revoking the road contract from the Construction company handling it. The road, according to estimation, was to gulp N19.7 billion at the time it was awarded to Great Northern Internation Company Limited on December 15, 2020.
While assessing the work done so far by the company, Mr Ishaya Vandi-Joseph, Federal Controller of Works, Kebbi Field Office, disclosed that a joint assessment tour of the project site would be the last assessment ahead of the revocation of the contract. Joseph recalled the scope of the project comprised of certification of the existing surfacing, and stone base, binder wiring cost and so on.
He, however, maintained that due to funding issues, the project suffered some delay in completion. Given the delay and considering the importance of the road, the state government followed due processes through the Federal Ministry of Works to take over the project.
According to him, “a delegation was sent from the ministry to come and assess the level of work done by the Great Northern Internation Company Limited. At the end of this very meeting, a report will be presented to the Minister of Works so that the Kebbi Government can take over and continue with the work,” he said.
Responding, Governor Idris represented by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Alhaji Muhammad Usman-Zuru, commended the Federal Government for taking a bold step to hand over the project to the state.
Said he: “This is what we have been expecting ever since. The state government will take ownership of the project and ensure quality jobs with speedy completion.”
While describing the road as one of the most important in the state, the governor said he had been shuttling Abuja-Kebbi to ensure that the state government takes the project.
Idris said: “Today signals the last meeting with the company handling this project but if the company is interested in this project, it can now join other contractors to bid for the same contract.”
On his part, Alhaji Abdullahi Faruq-Muslim, the state Commissioner for Works, disclosed that about seven local government areas depended on the road for their day-to-day activities.
“Though the road is a Federal Government road so long as it is in Kebbi, it belongs to Kebbi government because it’s the Kebbi people that will benefit from it. Moreso, this road is the agricultural hub of the state.
“We are going to measure the work done by this contractor metre by metre, inch by inch, after the measurement, then the minister of works will announce the revocation of the contract,” he said.
Mr Li Lu Kuan, the Company Project Manager, attributed the delay in the completion of the project to the high rate of inflation in the country as well as the insecurity situation in the area.
Shedding more light on the project, Special Adviser to the governor on Communication and Strategy, Alhaji Abdullahi Idris Zuru, explained that the reconstruction of the Koko-Zuru federal road project was awarded about five years ago but nothing was achieved and nothing has been done by either the state government or prominent indigenes of Zuru to ensure that the contract is executed.
He said: “We can sincerely testify to the fact that the execution of the project was among his campaign pledges to the leaders and people of Zuru Emirate given its socio-economic importance. He demonstrated his determination to ensure the execution of the project by requesting the Federal Government to revoke the contract and hand it over to the state government. Even when the request was kept in view, he made budgetary provision of a substantial amount of money in the 2024 budget for the commencement of the project.
“When an intelligent report revealed that some individuals from the state were allegedly sabotaging the revocation of the abandoned road contracts, he requested for the appointment of a high-powered delegation of prominent elders from Zuru Emirate to visit the President under his leadership to request for the revocation of the contract but that has not been considered worth doing.
“At the final of this year’s annual Uhola International Cultural Festival in Zuru, Comrade Governor publicly revealed that his efforts to ensure the revocation of the contract were being sabotaged by some people including the people of Zuru Emirate. For making the revelation, he called names and even accused them of instigating the people against their leaders.
Not deterred, the governor again requested for the nomination of a few elders from the Emirate to join others he will select from Gwandu, Argungu and Yauri to join him in fighting for the right of the emirate at the Presidential Villa; that had also failed.
“Eventually, the Comrade Governor took the bull by the horns, with the support of His Royal Highness Major-General Muhammadu Sani Sami Gomo ll, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Alhaji Muhammad Usman Zuru and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu to bulldoze his way to the Presidential Villa and succeeded in meeting Mr President with pictures and visuals of the deplorable condition of Koko-Zuru federal road, provided by the Speaker.
“With sympathetic feelings, President Tinubu was said to have there and then, approved the revocation of the contract and handing over to the state government with an agreement of reimbursement after execution. The Presidential approval was recently confirmed by the Ministers of Works, Budget and Economic Planning and Finance, and Digital Economyy at different forums.”
Speaking further, Idris Zuru maintained added: “As at now, interested but competent contractors have been invited to submit their proposals for the execution of the project.
“Just last week, when he received the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kebbi State Chapter on a courtesy visit, the Comrade Governor repeated that he fought external and internal forces to secure the revocation and subsequent handover of the project to the state government and expressed gratitude to Allah and those that genuinely supported him.
“It was at that meeting he declared that ‘l will execute the project by all means and at all cost, even if it warrants obtaining loan.’
By next week, God willing, a team of Engineers from the Federal and Kebbi State governments will be at the project site to ascertain what the former contractor did if any, the value of the project, the quality and completion period for the final documentation”
Idriss Zuru assured that the Zuru Emirate will get its fair share of all projects and programmes in all sectors of development being planned in all parts of the state regardless of the huge amount the road project will consume.