Nasarawa’s Mada people lament absence of infrastructure

The people told Daily Trust during a visit to communities of Nigha’an District of Mada chiefdom of Akwanga Local Government Area, comprising Arum, Anji, Pampam, Numa, Nidam and Ancho that the state government has abandoned the only infrastructure they would have enjoyed: the 8kms Andaha Junction-Ancho-Bayan Dutse road.Philip Peter Gando, youth leader of Ancho community […]

The people told Daily Trust during a visit to communities of Nigha’an District of Mada chiefdom of Akwanga Local Government Area, comprising Arum, Anji, Pampam, Numa, Nidam and Ancho that the state government has abandoned the only infrastructure they would have enjoyed: the 8kms Andaha Junction-Ancho-Bayan Dutse road.
Philip Peter Gando, youth leader of Ancho community bordering Kaduna State, said the people’s cries for the completion of the road started in August 2010.
The administration of Aliyu Akwe Doma awarded the contract at the cost of N80 million.
That administration saw the construction of culverts and earth work on the project, after the rainy season.
The work was abandoned because Doma’s administration was short-lived as he was defeated at the April, 2011 poll which brought in the present government of Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
 The completion of projects started by previous administrations, which are critical to the development of the people has been of the major thrust of Al-Makura’s three budgets: 2012, 2013 and 2014.
But more than three years into the administration, the 8kms Andaha Junction-Ancho-Bayan Dutse road has not had any attention from the government, forcing the communities connected to it to cry out.
The youth leader said the communities along the road have waited all these years to see the road completed but disappointed.
 Doma awarded six rural roads to run through the three senatorial zones of the state: 50kms Garaku-Dari-Amba-Kandare-Bassa costing N316 million; Panda-Kube road at the cost of N83 million; Andaha Junction-Ancho-Bayan Dutse at the cost of N80 million while the 22kms New Karshi-Old Karshi-Takalafia road will cost N190 million.
Other roads were the 35kms Doma-Alage-Amaku at the cost of N272 million; and the 21kms Nasarawa-Eggon-Bakyano-Arikya road at the cost of N135 million.
The six roads were the first phase of implementation of the 2010 “Budget of Reality” which outlined nine of such feeder roads within that fiscal year.