In December 2022, then Minister of State for Works and Housing, Umar El-Yakub mentioned that the first phase of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway would be completed by the first quarter of 2023. Daily Trust Saturday spoke to drivers who frequent that route to express their concerns over the delayed road reconstruction.
Umar Farouk, Adam Umar (Abuja) & Mohammed Yaba (Kaduna)
The federal government, through the Minister of Works and Housing, Raji Fashola, recently announced that work on sections of the Kaduna-Zaria axis of the road would be delivered before the end of this administration.
Fashola, who made the disclosure during a supervising tour of the project, had however, regretted that the Abuja-Kaduna section could not be completed before the dateline, citing issues of land compensation and security breach, among the reasons.
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The Abuja-Kaduna section of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road has been notorious for kidnappings of travellers, it notoriety made those going to the north to see the Abuja-Kaduna train to be a safer option for the trip.
Before the series of kidnappings, the road is dogged with various sizes of potholes that render users to complain of longer hours on the road as well as visits to a mechanic workshop after undertaking a trip through the journey.
Succour came when the federal government gave the award of the reconstruction of the road and its expansion into a dual carriageway.
The award was given to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, on December 20, 2017 but not until June, 2018 that work commenced.
The project which had, a completion period of 36 months meaning the work should have been completed in the first half of 2021, was initially awarded at N155 billion but later increased to N797 billion, an increment of N642bn.
He added that to make its work easy, the road was divided into three zones of Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Zaria and Zaria-Kano.
When the government realized that it would be impossible to meet up with the timeframe in 2021, Fashola assured that that Kaduna to Zaria section would be delivered in the last quarter of 2022, then Zaria to Kano in the first quarter of 2023.
For the Abuja to Kaduna section, a former Minister of State for the Ministry, Eng. Abubakar Aliyu, stated that it is the longest and most difficult in terms of terrain.
With the previous deadlines not met, Fashola said the delays were due to the total length of the road and the process of construction.
He added that the slow pace of work was due to the quality of work being done and its daily usage by commuters, but assured completion and commission by the first quarter of 2023.
But last month, he admitted that only section 2 (Kaduna-Zaria) and 3 (Zaria-Kano), with a combined stretch of 210 kilometres, would be commissioned by the president before he leaves office.
He said the first section (Abuja-Kaduna) is yet to get ready due to criminality on the way and the need to relocate some communities on the road.
“Criminal activities stalled the work for about a year in 2022. There are issues about right of way because of the need to relocate buildings, markets, electricity installations, utilities all of which must be addressed before the contractor can do his job,” he said.
Years after the commencement of the re-construction works, drivers who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of the highway said it was terrible.
A truck driver, Mustafa Abubakar Gani, wondered why those in charge of the project relocated to the Kaduna-Zaria and Kano sections while that of Abuja-Kaduna was abandoned in spite of its importance.
“I am an indigene of Kano State, but to be frank with you, the delayed section remains the most important part of the project. I cannot understand the wisdom behind giving more priority to the other sections of the road.
“It is true that Zaria and Kano sections lead in terms of the number of communities and population, but the road project is all about motorists. And the Abuja-Kaduna section leads in the number of vehicles plying it, both small and heavy-duty vehicles.
The driver, who was doing some mechanical adjustments along with others at Tungan-Maje in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said they were not comfortable with the condition of the highway, which he added, had worsened the spate of insecurity in the area. He, therefore, called for urgent action by the authorities concerned so as to salvage the situation and reduce accidents during the rainy season.
Ibrahim Hussaini, who plies the Abuja-Kano highway, said a good number of vehicles always made use of the road, including those from other states of the North-West etc; hence there is the need for proper attention by the federal government. He added that the Birnin-Gwari federal highway had been boycotted due to worsening insecurity.
“Government should intensify efforts to give the road a proper recognition and ensure completion of the project at the new dateline.
“However, I commend the government for the work done on the Kaduna-Zaria-Kano sections, which now makes journey easy. Let them at least do something on the worst affected parts of the road to save human lives,” he said.
He identified the areas where work has been done so far as Kaduna Road in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, up to Mararaban-Isa, a community with a distance of 20 kilometres from Tafa town in Kaduna State.
“This is the only area you can drive comfortably. After that, there’s no rehabilitation, up to Jere community, apart from patching some portions.
“The project witnessed a setback when its contractor abandoned the section for about seven months and relocated to Kaduna-Zaria and Zaria-Kano sections.
“They only returned to the site about two months ago and all they were able to do was to destroy the old road from the Audu-Jongom area, down to Kaduna Tollgate.
“Let them do some palliative measures from Mararaba-Isa to Jere, as well as Jere to Katari and Kaduna, otherwise the road could not be passable when the rain sets in,” he said.
Hussaini also faulted an excuse given by the minister that land compensation was part of the delay, arguing that most lands on the Abuja-Kaduna road section are either farm or bush terrain.
“I think compensation is easier in such places than areas inhabited by humans,” he added.
Meanwhile, some residents of Madalla in Niger State have asked for a flyover bridge at the boundary between the town the state and the FCT, saying they had lost a number of lives to truck drivers on that axis.
A resident, Ibrahim Muhammed, said accidents leading to casualties were often recorded as drivers move at high speed from both lanes.
“A flyover bridge should be constructed around the main junction of the town, as well as around Madalla market, especially as truck drivers move at high speed. There is hardly a week without accident here, which leads to casualties. I believe that with a flyover bridge, such experiences would be avoided, as well as unnecessary delay suffered by motorists,” Muhammed said.
Meanwhile, a commercial driver who frequently travels along the Kaduna-Abuja highway, identified only as Adamu, expressed frustration with the gridlock caused by the poor state of the road.
Adamu said driving along the highway had become difficult, especially due to the security situation in the area.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that since road construction resumed from Olam Farm to Tollgate about two weeks ago, most motorists are now forced to use one lane.
“Our major concern now is the use of one lane from Olam to Audu Jamgwam village. There was a diversion there. The gridlock from Katere to Jere area is now as bad as the one around Olam,” he said.
He further explained that experienced drivers who frequently ply the road know the location of dangerous potholes and can navigate them, but some who are not familiar with the road often hit the potholes.
Another commercial driver, Bello, who is popularly known as Belly Driver and operates from the Television Garage Motor Park, confirmed the resumption of work from Olam Farm, which is about 10 kilometers from Tollgate.
He, however, lamented that the remaining part of the road from Katere to Jere had not been worked on yet.
“The most dilapidated part of the highway is from Katare to Jere. Drivers are only managing to navigate the potholes on the road,” he said.
When contacted, the Director of Highways, North West Zone, at the Ministry of Works and Housing, Engr. Wasiu Taiwo, said the Abuja-Kaduna Road stalled due to the kidnappings on the road, leading to the contractor not working throughout 2022.
Engr. Taiwo said this is coupled with the section being the longest, so, much work is needed to be carried out on it.
“The contractor even tried to complete one lane but it was not possible due to the high vehicular movement.”
He added that the road would continue to remain a high priority of the federal government due to its importance, adding that when the two other sections are completed, it will enable the contractor to have enough manpower to complete it early in the administration of the next government.
When asked if any deadline has been set, he said no, but it would be completed within the first year of the next administration.
“This depends on the continuous flow of funding from the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, we used to have issues if the funding is from budgetary allocation but this form of fund has enabled the work to go hitch free from the part of the government.”
