By Daniel Tyokua
Commuters under the Road Users Development Network of Nigeria (RUDNN) have threatened to stage a protest over neglect of the dilapidated portions of Abuja-Keffi expressway, resulting in daily sufferings of citizens living in the axis.
They asked the contractor handling the ongoing expansion of Abuja-Keffi road to immediately rise up and maintain the existing carriage way there within the next 14 days otherwise, they may be left with no option than to mobilise other users of the road to protest their hardship to President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement signed by the group Caretaker Committee Chairman, Chimezie Obi also decried the excessive slow pace of expansion work, which have impacted negatively on the lives & businesses of users of that road, one of the busiest roads in Nigeria due to its proximity to the FCT.
It explained that while the road expansion work is taking forever to construct, the heavy vehicular movement and climate effects are also causing potholes on portions of the road, specifically from Abacha Barracks down to the boundary of FCT & Nasarawa State, leading to slowdown of movement by vehicles, thereby causing long stretch of gridlock on the road.
The statement read in part:”The need to draw the attention of the Federal Government once again on the plight of citizens plying the Abuja-Keffi Road have once again become imperative and urgent.
“On a daily basis, commuters along this road suffer untold hardship during the peak hours of the morning and the evening simply because the Federal Government through the Ministry of Works have failed to take that road expansion work seriously. Nigerians will like to know whether the duration of the expansion work is forever.
“Otherwise, the Ministry that awarded that contract should sit up and take decisive actions for the interest of citizens subjected to untold hardship daily on that road.
“RUDNN hereby call on the contractor to immediately rise up and maintain the existing carriage way in the Abuja-Keffi Road within the next 14-days, otherwise, we may be left with no option than to call on users of that road to protest their hardship to Mr. President.
‘We also call the Federal Ministry of Works to call the contractor to order to sit up and immediately repair the bad portions of Abuja-keffi Road to ease the sufferings of Citizens living in that axis.
“May we not witness a day when Citizens living in that axis will rise up collectively to protest their untold hardship of living and plying in that road axis, as if they are second class citizens”.
