Gaidam confident on Trans-Saharan road project
Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State has expressed optimism that the 300kilometre-long ‘Trans-Saharan’ road project started by his administration in the northern part of the state will be completed before his tenure ends in 2019 even amidst stiff fiscal challenges.
The governor spoke yesterday at Yusufari town during an inspection tour of the project.
The ‘Trans-Saharan’ road project, so called because of the extremely sandy terrain in northern Yobe, starts from Kanamma in Yunusari LGA to Machina town in Machina LGA.
Gaidam said he decided to embark on the project because the area, which ‘has been neglected over the years by the federal government’ according to him, needs to be opened up to tap from its rich natural and agricultural potentials.
“This area is also a part of Nigeria but over the years, it has been neglected by the federal government. This is why we decided to prioritize the provision of infrastructure including roads in the area to give the people a sense of belonging. Of course this is a priority for other parts of our state as well.
“Although our fiscal situation is very tight, we will ensure the full completion of the project before the end of our tenure. Given our style of managing scarce available resources, I am optimistic we will keep faith with all our other obligations and still continue with and complete this project”, he said.
The governor expressed satisfaction with the quality of work executed in the first phase of the project which begins from Kanamma to Kafiya covering a distance of 55 kilometres executed at the cost of N8 billion and handled by the Chinese firm CGC.
He urged the Chinese contractors handling the second and third phases of the project to increase the pace of work and ensure that those phases are completed before the end of 2016.
The governor also took time to speak to communities along the path of the road, assuring them that schools and government buildings as well as some private property destroyed by Boko Haram in Kanamma town will be renovated.
He said his administration will continue to do everything necessary within available resources to improve the living conditions of the people.
He expressed confidence that life would continue to return to normal in the area as Boko Haram continues to suffer defeat.