By Ogalah Ibrahim

Katsina State Elders’ Forum has appealed to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola to call on the contractors handling the Kano – Katsina road project to return back to site after abandoning the project for over three months.

The road which used to be a single carriage way is being upgraded to a dual-carriage way to ease the flow of traffic on the highway.

Alhaji Aliyu Sani Mohammed the Secretary, Katsina State Elders Forum made the appeal during an interview with some journalists in Katsina.

The road project which is said to be over 65% complete has been abandoned by the contractors for the past three months, the elder statesman noted.

When asked on why the project contractor abandoned the site,  the elder statesman said: “We don’t know but a source had it that the contractors want compensations to be paid to property owners in the affected areas and as far as we are concerned compensation is supposed to be paid by the Federal Government, which must have been included in the SUKUK fund arrangement.

In his words:
“We are concerned about the Kano-Katsina road which we have noticed work has stopped completely and the contractors have parked their equipment and relocated to another place  with no explanation whatsoever.

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“How can they abandon such an important project. This project is very important to the country, being that the Kano – Katsina road is a gateway to other states like Zamfara, Sokoto, and even the Niger Republic.

“So we are pleading with the Minister to please ask the contractors to come back and finish this job. What is left is just about 30-35%. He should please bring them back to complete this job in good time.

Vanguard however gathered that the reason why the contractors evacuated the project site may be connected to the unpaid compensations to properties owner at the  project sites which the works minister tagged as the state government responsibility.

According to Elder Aliyu, the Katsina State Elders’ Forum,  a Non-Governmental Organization whose focus is identifying areas that will contribute to the development of the state and the country at large, has been able to champion several interventions on developmental projects for the state, prominent among them includes:

The ongoing rehabilitation of Maraba Rimi Wind Farm which would supply 10 megawatts of electricity to Katsina and environs in addition to the 330KVA power project which is ongoing.

Another milestone achievement spearheaded by the Katsina Elder Statesmen Forum is the approval secured for the upgrading of Katsina Federal Medical Centre to a full fledged teaching hospital and conceded to Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s University (UMYU) for trainings and clinicals of their medical students.

Elder Aliyu commended the efforts of the state Governor, Aminu Bello Masari towards all the projects spearheaded by the elders forum, noting particularly how he has  worked tirelessly to ensure the take-off of medical courses in the state university by donating fourteen houses and awarding contracts for building of hostels in the new federal teaching hospital, among several others. 

Vanguard News Nigeria