Disturbed by the deplorable Numan -Gombe road Adamawa residents have on Thursday threatened to embark on mass protest as they issued 10 days ultimatum to APC led Federal government to fix the road.
During a virtual social media campaign by concerned indigenes and motorists in the two states of Adamawa and Gombe with hashtag: # Shut Down Yola Airport #Fix Yola Gombe Road” residents alleged that was ” preferential treatment being meted against the people of Adamawa and Gombe on the road projects.”
The participants in the campaign, among others, ” resolved to give the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammad Buhari and the Federal Ministry of Works under Barrister Babatunde Fashola a ten days ultimatum to assure Nigerians of fixing the road on due time or to go for a peaceful protest,” Jauro Manu one of the participants noted.
Also reiterating on facebook wall, an APC chieftain Nurudden Kama posted, ” After a virtual meeting with some members of the campaign for #FIX YOLA GOMBE ROAD and #FIX YOLA-MUBI ROAD, we decided to give the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammad Buhari and the Federal Ministry of Works under Barrister Babatunde Fashola a 10 DAYS ULTIMATUM to mobilize back to site or we will be left with no alternatives than to;
1. OCCUPY YOLA AIRPORT
2. CLOSE DOWN SAVANNAH SUGAR
3. SHUT DOWN GOMBE-YOLA ROAD
“As a Nigerian with relative knowledge on how the government operates, I know the next thing they will do is to deploy more securities to go after the mobilisers of #FIX YOLA-GOMBE ROAD instead of deploying them to Sambisa.
“In that case, they should be ready to arrest 4 Million people of Adamawa State whose only access to the world is this Road.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the 10 DAYS ULTIMATUM begun at 11 PM on Wednesday 7th October, 2020,” it stated.
Discussions at the meeting were largely concentrated on how socio-economy activities were badly affected and lives and properties worth millions of naira are on weekly basis destroyed.
” Is annoying how this work is being done since 2016, nothing is moving, despite the presence of Savannah sugar company, ( Dangote Sugar company),” so disturbed Desmond Japhet.
Recalls that since the Obasanjo era, to date the Federal government constantly featured the 240 kilometers road from Gombe to Yola into budgets.
The federal government awarded the contract for the completion of the rehabilitation of the Gombe-Numan-Yola road to Triacta Nigerian Limited and Chinese Geo-engineering Company (CGC) respectively.
According to the contract work plan, Triacta Nigeria Limited is to rehabilitate the Gombe to Kaltungo portion of the road, while CGC was to rebuild the road from Kaltungo to Numan.
The phase-II of the project, located in Gombe State, is to cover the road from Gombe to Kaltungo, which covers a distance of 83km.
Earlier in March, motorists plying the Gombe-Numan-Yola highway were assured that the ongoing construction work on the Gombe-Kaltungo axis would be completed by June.
The Project Manager of the road, Imran Khan, told the Director Federal High Way, North-East at the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Rufai Mohammed, that over 45 kilometres out of the 68 kilometres from the Gombe – Kaltungo axis of the road had been completed.
