Residents decry govt refusal to construct bridge in Plateau

Residents of Pinau community in Wase LGA of Plateau have decried the refusal of the state and local governments to construct a bridge to link it and other communities bordering Wase town where they can access hospital services and markets.

The residents said whenever there is a critical health challenge in the area, they find it difficult to convey patients to Wase town for better treatment, adding that their farmers also find it difficult to transport their produce to the markets.

Our correspondent reports that Pinau is a community habited mostly by farmers, but getting access to the main town of Wase, the headquarters of the Wase LGA, for their socioeconomic activities has always been a problem.

The residents of the area, who are currently constructing a wooden bridge, claimed that they had severally cried to the Wase LG authorities with no response.

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They said many deaths were recorded as the people try to cross the river to Wase town and other neighbouring communities.

Mubarak Abdullahi, a resident of the village, said “we are calling on government at all levels to hear our cry. I believe that the government is listening to us. We are doing this community work to ease vehicular movement so that our farm produce can be transported to other areas. Aside that, when someone is ill, we do not find it easy to take them cross to Wase town for treatment.”

Yahuza Gambo, another resident of the community said, “We have come out this morning as a community to construct the bridge and fill some holes caused by erosion along the road. This is an ancient village and we are mostly farmers.

“If we don’t put the bridge in order, there is no way we can cross the river with our farm produce during or after the rainy season. We are calling on government to assist us.”

While expressing their agony on the absence of the bridge, some members of the community called on both the local and state governments to construct a bridge that would link them to Wase for their social and economic activities.