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Regional News of Saturday, 16 January 2021

Source: sunnewsonline.com

Mixed reactions trail Gov Ishaku's multi-billion Naira road project in Taraba

Taraba state Governor Darius Ishaku Taraba state Governor Darius Ishaku

Mixed reactions from residents of Jalingo, the Taraba State capital have continued to trail the dualization of Jalingo main road and building of a flyover at Roadblock area by the Taraba state governor Darius Ishaku.

The road project awarded at the cost of over Thirty Billion Naira is to dualize a portion of the highway through Jalingo from Sibre to the other end of town heading towards Jalingo-Numan way, while a flyover at the Roadblock area is expected to ease the flow of traffic and add beauty to the city. However, while some residents are grateful and looking forward to the completion of the project and the benefits that comes with it, some are of the opinion that the project is a misplaced priority and it would have been better for the governor to invest the monies into other areas of priority to the people.

According to the state Commissioner of information Mr Danjuma Adamu, “you are aware of the dualization of main road through Jalingo from around the NYSC camp at Sibre to the exit (depending on where you are coming from) at the beginning of Jalingo-Numan highway, with a flyover at Roadblock. This project is well thought and meant to give the city a facelift among other benefits. This is another giant stride by the governor in providing dividends of democracy to the people and I am sure residents are very excited and eager to see it completed”.

Mr Albert Ulehga sees the project as “the only thing that will make you feel like you are in a city when you come to Jalingo that has greatly remained like a glorified village all these years. When you travel to other states, you don’t need anyone to tell you when you are entering the state capital. Such is not the case with Jalingo. Hopefully, once the project is completed, Jalingo can then be seen as a state capital that it is”.

Similarly, another resident Mr Yahaya Yakubu says the project has both short and long term benefits that are worth it. According to Yakubu, “most people are temporary inconvenienced by the project, most especially since no proper arrangement was made to divert traffic while work is going on here but ultimately, they will appreciate the project. Beside easing the flow of traffic and giving the city a better look, it will also become a state symbol for Taraba. People also complain that the project is not a priority of the people. That is a sound argument but this is something that even if you don’t do it today, you must still do it someday. It is even better to do it now than wait till tomorrow when the cost would have tripled”.

However some residents see the project as a misplaced priority and mere conduit pipe for syphoning of state funds.

The Nigerian Envoy to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Alhaji Hassan Ardo Jika while commenting on the project recently regretted that it has shown how clueless the state governor is about the needs of the people. “For most people in the state, a flyover is not a necessity at this stage, when we have pensioners who have not been paid their gratuities for years after retirement. We have workers who are not been paid their salaries as and when due, even during festive periods as this. As we speak, teachers have not been paid, lecturers have not been paid and there are very key areas that need financing and are suffering neglect. There are areas that desperately need opening to boost the economic activities there. Instead of focusing the resources in the state there, the governor is wasting Billions on a flyover”.

For Mr Bala Husseini, “the state governor has not done anything in the last five years of his government and has just realized that his two terms are fast running out and so he wants to do something that he will be remembered for and something that he will use as excuse to divert resources”.

For Mr Ezra Bufu, “the project is a crashed program and a last minute decision. That is why no proper arrangement was put in place for the traffic to be diverted to an alternative route. I understand that parts of the Jalingo Kona road will also be affected. This is a road that has just been completed. So clearly, this is an after thought and it has brought untold hardship for the people. The project is also taking so long without appreciable progress”.

The project, irrespective of how people see it, has the capacity of bringing more good than bad to the state generally and Jalingo in particular. For most residents however, the temporary inconveniences caused by the project is their only grudge and just wish it is hastily completed so that life can go back to normal.