Daily Trust

Residents lament over bad state of Machada-Yimi road

- By Abubakar Sadiq Isah

Residents of Machada community, near Zuba in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have expressed concern over the deplorable state of the road leading to Yimi village in the area.

They complained that the bad state of the road causes untold hardship to the residents most especially farmers who transport their crops to the markets in Zuba and Gwagwalada.

A resident, Musa Haruna, who spoke with Aso Chronicle, said the uncomplete­d box culverts along the road have made the condition of the road worst, saying anytime it rains the road becomes impassable for motorists.

He also said part of the dirt road was threatened by erosion due to lack of proper water drainage system.

According to him, the uncomplete­d double cell box culverts were abandoned by the previous administra­tion, noting that with the increase in population in the community, the council authoritie­s should intensify efforts in completing the abandoned culverts.

“The major problem facing residents of this community is the bad state of the road. As you can see, some culverts have been abandoned for over six years now and anytime it rains, the water is diverted to the main road and that has been causing erosion, “he said.

Another resident, Ezekiel Yakubu, said though the present administra­tion of Alhaji Adamu Mustapha, has tried in addressing the challenges of electricit­y at the community, the residents would be appreciati­ve when the road is also fixed.

‘And to be fair to the council chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mustapha, he has tried to address the problem of electricit­y and even provided transforme­rs here in Machada community, but we are still appealing to him to come to our aid to tackle the problem of this road,” he said.

A commercial cyclist, Suleiman Umar, who spoke with Aso Chronicle, also complained over the bad state of the road, saying some cyclist hardly ply the road due its deplorable condition even as he said he charges any passenger he pick from Zuba town to Machada village between N150 to N200.

“In fact, not every Okada man likes plying this road because of the bad nature of the road, especially any day that it rains, the road becomes slippery. And I have to wash my bike two times in a day some times after the close of work,” he said.

Similarly, residents of Anguwar Paka community have also expressed concern over the deplorable state of the road that links them with Zuba town.

Some residents who spoke with Aso Chronicle said the road that links from Agora of Zuba’s palawwwwce junction down to Ibwa village, near Muslim cemetery was in a deplorable state, saying the road has been causing untold hardship especially to people with vehicles that reside in the area.

A resident, Adekunle Benjamin, said the road and some located around the area have been threatened by erosion due to lack of water drainage, saying anytime there was heavy rain fall, the road becomes impassable to motorists.

He said majority of residents of the area who are mostly civil servants and reside at residentia­l houses faces serious hardship whenever it rains, as they hardly drive through the road.

According to him, some residents sometimes abandoned their vehicles at a friend’s and neighbour’s houses at Zuba town especially whenever it rains, saying the road becomes impassable for the motorists.

He added that majority of residents of the area who own their personal houses always mobilize funds especially during rainy season to procure laterite to fill some bad portions of the road and erosion that also threaten some houses in the area.

“And apart from that, some residents especially those whose houses are being threatened by erosion have to find an alternativ­e by engaging the services of bricklayer­s to fill enough concrete beside their house in order to avoid their houses to collapse, he said.

 ?? Photo: Abubakar Sadiq Isah ?? Yimi - Machada road, near Zuba, Gwagwalada area council
Photo: Abubakar Sadiq Isah Yimi - Machada road, near Zuba, Gwagwalada area council

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