Justina Asishana – Minna
Motorists entering into Niger State from the west and eastern parts have been stranded for two days as trailer drivers blocked all the entry routes into the State capital.
The protest began in Bida on Friday when the drivers block the entry roads with their trailers.
It continued on Saturday when the protesters blocked the road at Lambata.
This left many motorists stranded with some failing to attend several events, including the TEDx in Minna.
The protesting drivers asked the Niger State Government to reopen the Bida-Minna road.
They vowed they would not suspend the ongoing protest until the road is opened.
They lamented that the State Government has blocked the Minna-Bida road for the past six months, making them take the Bida-Lapai- Lambata road, which they said has become a nightmare.
The Bida blockage began as early as 7 am on Friday while the Lambata blockage began on Saturday morning.
The entire roads into Bida blocked include the Gbazhi area before Emirs palace and Esso, Siriku junction alongside some street routes.
Stranded motorists lamented their inability to meet up with some commitments due to the development.
But the Niger State Government said reopening the Minna-Bida road is not an option due to the amount of money spent on repairing it.
Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Muhammad Sani Idris, in a statement, explained allowing heavy-duty vehicles to ply the road plying would damage the sections of the road that have already been repaired.
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The Commissioner stated that the trailer drivers cannot hold the government to ransom by demanding the opening of the road.
“The Governor Abu Sani Bello administration is determined that the road construction must go on and as such, opening the Minna-Bida road to heavy-duty vehicles is not an option for now, for that would destroy everything the government has done and taxpayers money would be wasted redoing what was already done.
“As it stands today, the entire stretch of the entire roads in Niger state is suffering because of these heavy-duty vehicles. Only a few months ago these same vehicles destroyed the Minna-Zungeru road, they have also destroyed the Bida-Zungeru road and are now looking to destroy the work ongoing on Minna-Bida road. The state government will not allow that,” the statement reads.Χ
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