Abuja residents are begging President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to complete the Apo-Karshi road before the expiration of his tenure.
Mr Buhari will leave office next May.
In separate interviews on Tuesday, the residents said the project’s contractor should be mobilised to resume work.
The Apo-Karshi project was awarded to Kakatar Limited, an indigenous company, in 2011, with a completion period of 20 months. But 11 years after, the project has not been completed.
Hussein Ahmed, who works at a federal ministry in Garki, asked the regime to consider the plight of commuters.
‘’I came to the Nyanya axis of the city in 2015 with the firm assurance from the government that the road is a priority contract that will be completed before the end of the year,” Mr Ahmed explained. “We are in the end of 2022, and the road is not completed. The daily exhaustion tool takes on us is heavy on our health and work.”
Silas Nwachukwu, a timber dealer at Kugbo, lamented that congestion had led to many mishaps on the road, causing deaths and loss of properties.
‘’Over the years, accidents on this axis have always been fatal, especially during rush hour. The accidents are enough for the government to complete this alternative road,” added Mr Nwachukwu. “The vehicular congestion on this road can make someone go mental.”
An engineer, who did not want to be named, said the only way to address the congestion on the Nyanya road is to construct an alternative. He said every new administration since ex-President Goodluck Jonathan had promised to complete the road.
“The Buhari administration should take the bull by the horn and complete this road to its glory. This is also a way of ensuring a good working environment for workers,” stated the engineer. “Before the government moves its offices away from the city centre to other area councils, the Apo-Karshi road must be completed.”
The site engineer of Kakatar, Chris Ihedigbo, said the company was constrained because of the high cost of materials, stressing that Kakatar was ready to finish the project the moment the FCT Administration agreed to the adjustment in the project’s cost.
“We have come a long with this project, and I am assuring you that the moment we get the variation, this project will be completed in 90 days. The biggest hurdle was the huge hills that constituted an obstruction to the road,” said Mr Ihedigbo. “This has been cut into, and work will begin in earnest. In spite of the level of work, some residents have been using it like that.”
Mr Ihedigbo pointed out that it “is not our intention to delay the completion, but the challenges are way beyond us,” revealing that “we suffered losses to our equipment by vandals during the work.”
He added, “Armed persons have been wreaking havoc by coming in the night to steal expensive parts of our equipment which are worth millions of naira.”
(NAN)
