Kogi bad road: Kidnappers on rampage on Okene-Auchi road – LG boss

The Chairman of Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, Hon. Abdulrazaq Muhammed has lamented the deplorable state of Okene-Auchi Highway, saying it has exposed travellers to armed kidnappers.

The LG boss explained that the bad condition of the road currently has nmadw travellers vulnerable to attack by armed robbers and kidnappers, who operates with ease, while calling on the Federal Government to repair the road without delay.

According to him, Okene and its surrounding communities have been locked in insecurity by these bad elements as they have taken advantage of the bad road to unleash incessant attacks on peasant farmers and other innocent members of the public living along the road.

Speaking with newsmen on the plight of residents of Okene on Friday, the Chairman called on the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to urgently come for the rescue of the commutters.

He accused the Federal Ministry of Works and FERMA of lukewarm thereby worsening the condition of the trunk ‘A’ Road which links the north to the southern part of the country,

He said he had written to the relevant authorities, intimating them of the worsening condition of the road, all to no positive response.

“Some hoodlums have found it easy to pounce on the stranded travellers and vulnerable communities along the road to unleash mayhem on them.

“Most worrisome is that in the last two days, the grid lock created by the worsening condition of the road, has extended to Okene township, thereby blocking all the major access roads within the town” he stated.

In similar vein, rehabilitation work on the Ganaja road has again come to stand still, after the contractors resumed work, few days ago and put asphalt on one lane of the 200 unit-Tobi plaza axis of the road.

Meanwhile, visit to the road from Ganaja junction to Ganaja village, which is less than 10 kilometres journey on Friday, showed that no rehabilitation was ongoing as contractors have moved their earth-moving equipment from the road.