By Ogalah Ibrahim

The Katsina State Government has suspended the local chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Dutsinma, Aminu Usman, following a widely circulated false statement claiming the closure of a major federal road due to insecurity.

The suspension, announced in a joint press briefing in Katsina on Wednesday, came after the state chapter of the NURTW and the government strongly denied the alleged closure of the Dutsinma-Yantumaki-Mararabar Kankara federal road.

A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Bala Zango, and the Katsina State NURTW Chairman, Musa Yandoma, attempts to clarify the situation. “The attention of the Katsina State Government has been drawn to a release purportedly written and signed by Aminu Usman, chairman of the NURTW Dutsinma branch, that motorists should stop following Dutsinma, Turare, Yantumaki, and Mararrabar Kankara road, saying the road has been closed,” the statement read.

It noted that the state branch of the union had disassociated itself from the “unreasonable release”, noting that Usman had issued it “without due consultation with the union state office and other relevant stakeholders”.

Earlier on Wednesday, the unauthorised statement regarding the road closure, citing insecurity, had gone viral across social media, causing considerable fear among motorists and passengers.

“Motorists and the general public are by this statement requested to disregard this misinformation and to dispel any further rumours,” the joint statement urged. “Katsina State Government and security agencies in the state wish to categorically state that the road remains open and has not been closed.”

Zango further assured the public that the Dutsinma-Yantumaki to Marrarabar Kankara road was “safe and accessible to motorists”. He pointed out that “the government has, for many years back, mounted security checkpoints for the safety of commuters and others in the public along the road.”

He added that “Closing this road would have a significant impact on the local economy, as it would disrupt the flow of goods and services and make it difficult for residents to commute to work or access essential services.”