Despite several contract awards, Jos-Saminaka road remains deplorable

From the administration of Umaru Musa Yar’adua, through Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and the present government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the federal government has consistently ignored the Kaduna-Maraban-Jos-Pambeguwa-Saminaka-Jos Road, despite multiple contract awards for its repair. Trapped in a daily ordeal are vehicles, motorcycles and other conveyances struggling to reach their destinations along the […]

From the administration of Umaru Musa Yar’adua, through Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and the present government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the federal government has consistently ignored the Kaduna-Maraban-Jos-Pambeguwa-Saminaka-Jos Road, despite multiple contract awards for its repair.

Trapped in a daily ordeal are vehicles, motorcycles and other conveyances struggling to reach their destinations along the Jos-Saminaka Road that connects part of the North-west and North-central states of Kaduna and Plateau.

Vehicle drivers find themselves in a daily tug-of-war; a battle between machines and the elements of nature eager to trap them in mud during the rainy season. Many times, vehicles on the road are found to have fallen on their sides; evidence of a lost battle with the slippery surface and massive potholes filled with rain water.

The deplorable condition of the famous Jos-Saminaka Road, a federal highway, has for more than two decades remained a death trap. It continues to deteriorate, becoming a nightmare for commuters and residents of communities along the long stretch of road.

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Once a busy route, connecting Kaduna and Plateau, the route has become a shadow of itself, with many commuters avoiding it due to its danger, physical exhaustion on drivers and passengers as well as high vehicular maintenance.

The Kaduna-Maraban-Jos-Pambeguwa-Saminaka-Jos Road is approximately 199.50km. However, commuters say the Saminaka-Jos portion of the road has faced the most deterioration. Weekend Trust commissioned a reporter from Jos to examine the 70km part of the Jos-Saminaka highway and assess its current situation as well as the impact on the road users.

During the visit, our correspondent observed that many vehicles now avoid the route, except for heavy-duty trucks who try to meander through the large potholes. During various stops at communities along the road to speak with drivers and locals, the interactions revealed widespread frustration and concerns about safety, economic impact, and a dire need for intervention.

Expressing his frustration, Aminu Yari, a truck driver whose vehicle got stuck in a pothole, said the incident happened despite desperate efforts to navigate smoothly. Yari’s vehicle, seen to have tilted to one angle, was at the mercy of local youths trying to rescue it from the mud-trapped pothole, at the time of the visit. 

“We were on our way to Kano State when our vehicle got stuck in the mud around 1am,” Yari narrated to this reporter, adding that attempts to manoeuvre his way out of the mud became impossible.

While expressing his frustration, he said driving along the Jos-Saminaka Road has become discouraging. “With my knowledge of this road for many years as a driver, I get anxious anytime I am requested to transport goods to Jos or any community connected to the road, because of its terrible condition,” he said. 

He urged the federal government to intervene by ensuring that deplorable roads nationwide are fixed. “This road is just one example of many in dire need of repair. Even temporary measures, such as patching the road is preferable to leaving it in its current state,” he said.

This reporter also met Jamilu Tukur, another driver whose truck was stuck in a deep pothole along the road. At the time of the meeting, Tukur told Weekend Trust that they had been stranded for two days. “Despite working day and night, we could not free the vehicle. We were stranded for days. The road is completely damaged, in fact, when we arrived here, we found two other vehicles also trapped,” he said.

But for travellers like Isa Muhammad, a taxi driver who has plied the road in the last 20 years, the situation only worsened in recent years. While on his way to Saminaka town, Muhammad spared a few minutes to chat with this reporter and explained that whenever his vehicle and those of his colleagues got stuck in the mud, they sought the assistance of youths to help pull out the vehicle. “Not far from here, there are three vehicles trapped in the mud,” he told this reporter while pointing ahead. “They could not move, so they needed to find people to rescue them. 

“Those of us from this region don’t enjoy the benefits of democracy, we don’t understand the purpose of elections because we don’t reap any rewards from the politicians. Imagine having a patient in an emergency situation or a pregnant woman, how would you transport them to the hospital on time? They’ll likely die before you get there,” he said. 

He urged the federal government to consider the fact that communities along the route rely on farming and commercial transportation to make ends meet and a functional and reliable road would greatly enhance their source of livelihoods.

 

Community efforts yield little success

For years, local volunteers in the various communities along the road have made efforts to fill up the potholes with sand and stones; a process they refer to as patching the road. Their efforts, however, yield little success with many of the youths saying they are now tired of it. Speaking with our correspondent, some of the volunteers said the degree of damage on the road was beyond their capacity considering its continued deterioration.

Ibrahim Baroaiki, a team leader of the volunteer group, said the process of patching the road has been ongoing for years, hoping that the federal government would intervene before the situation worsens. “We fetch stones daily to fill the potholes. The road is deteriorating rapidly despite our efforts, the situation is now beyond our capacity,” he said.

He urged government officials to make physical visits to the long-stretch road for a first-hand assessment.

“We believe this is the only way to draw their attention to the issue and for prompt action,” he said.

Muhammad Rabiu, a resident of Kwanan Bauda – a community along the road, said commuters usually avoid the Saminaka-Jos Road during the rainy season as a section is often submerged, making it inaccessible. “Also, when a truck falls, it blocks the road, making it inaccessible for other vehicles. This in turn creates traffic jam in the area,” he said, adding that they often organise youths from the community to collect stones and fill up the potholes in order to make it bearable for vehicle owners.

“Still, car owners sometimes navigate through our farms, destroying them in the process to continue their journey,” he said.

The village head of Fedare, in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Umar Babangida Ubale, said the condition of the road has generated huge losses for communities in the area. The traditional leader, who accompanied our correspondent on a physical assessment of the road, recalled that it was constructed under the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in the 1990s. “Since then, no repairs or maintenance has been carried out on the road. Drivers who load goods from Port-Harcourt and other places from the southern parts of the country to Kano pass through this route. The lack of maintenance and reconstruction of the road, later forced many to avoid it,” he said. 

The village head said oftentimes, vehicles fall on the road. “We have been witnessing various accidents due to the nature of the road. As a result of the accidents, farmers and business men and women lose their goods. Others pay high prices to get their goods transported from farms to their homes or markets, due to the nature of the road,” he said.

 

Despite multiple contract awards, no visible work done

Weekend Trust gathered that the Kaduna-Maraban-Jos-Pambeguwa-Saminaka-Jos Road rehabilitation contract was awarded in 2010 to P. W. Nigeria Limited by the administration of late President Umaru Musa Ya’adua, on a one-year timeline for completion, but the project remained incomplete more than a decade later.

In December 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration re-awarded the approximately 199.50km road project to Setraco Nig. Limited to the tune of N38.7bn with a 12 months completion period. Yet, the project was halted at Kayarda; a community between Pambeguwa and Saminaka. Since then, there has been no indication of resumption of work.

Checks on Eyemark, a federal government platform launched by the Muhammadu Buhari administration to track federal government capital projects showed that the rehabilitation of the Kaduna-Pambegua-Jos Road under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has been marred by repeated delays and re-awarding of several portions of the road.

Since 2020, the Eyemark portal showed that there had been at least seven separate awards of portions of the road. The portal showed that in 2020, the project Kaduna- Pambegua-Jos Road with code; ERGP12145204 and appropriation of N893,000,000 was awarded. It shows that the status of the project was ongoing.

In the same year, the government had flagged off the rehabilitation of Mararaba-Pambeguwa-Saminak-Jos Road, section Ii Pambeguwa-Saminaka Road in Kaduna State C/No.6013 with a project code of ERGP12142303 and a total appropriation of N714,400,000.00. The portal also shows that the project is currently ongoing.

Similarly, in 2021, the Kaduna-Pambegua-Jos Road with a project code of ERGP12154145 and a total appropriation of N600,000,000 was re-awarded. Again, the portal revealed that the project is currently ongoing.

In the same 2021, the road project was posted with number C/No.6013 with a project code of ERGP12160592 and a total appropriation of N1,000,000,000.00. It, however, stated that the project was yet to start.

The Eyemark portal posted the same project with the title: “Rehabilitation of Mararaba-Pampeguwa-Saminaka-Jos Road section I Pambegua-Saminaka Road in Kaduna State” with a project code of ERGP12180365 in 2022 and a total appropriation of N1,500,000,000.00. It also shows that the project is yet to start.

This is same with 2023 when the same project with the title: ‘Rehabilitation of Mararaba-Pambeguwa-Saminak-Jos Road, Section Ii Pambeguwa-Saminaka Road in Kaduna State C/No.6013” with a project code of ERGP12195340 and a total appropriation of N900,000,000.00 was re-awarded. It indicated that the project is currently yet to start.

Similar project was re-awarded with the title: “Rehabilitation of Kaduna-Pambegua-Jos Road in Kaduna/Plateau States C/No.6904 with a project code of ERGP12174220 and a total appropriation of N51,000,000.00. The project is yet to start, according to the information on Eyemark.

 

How lack of funds, high cost of materials stalled project

The Federal Ministry of Works, which is the government body in charge of the road project, has not officially responded to Weekend Trust’s enquiries on the status of the road. When contacted, the Director of Press for the ministry, Mohammed Sabo Ahmed, asked our reporter to visit him in his office. However, when the reporter got there, he was told the director was not on seat. He also did not answer repeated calls made to his phone number afterwards.

However, a source in the ministry who is familiar with the project told our reporter that the project was stalled due to lack of funds owing to the high cost of materials. The source acknowledged that the company handling the project had written to the ministry in November 2023, to communicate variations in the project, which led to the ministry subsequently dividing the project into two phases.

“The entire project was initially pegged to cost around N38 billion, but with the high cost of materials, the ministry decided to divide the project into phase one and two. At the current price of materials, phase one alone will cost 33 billion, because the contractor will still do some adjustments on the road again to make it stronger,” he said.

He said the entire road project will now gulp N98,761 billion.

“Now, phase two will go to BPP for no objection certificate and then it will be transferred to the Federal Executive Council for approval. Work can start on the second phase after the approval,” he said.

He said the contractor still owes N15 billion, adding that: “The government paid them half and asked them to get the remaining half which the government will refund when funds are available. So, for now, any work that the contractor will do will be determined by the certificate from BPP and FEC approval. This cannot be possible this year, so it is till the next year’s fiscal appropriation,” he said.