Governor Inuwa moves to tackle road crashes along Gombe bypass
Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has reiterated his government’s commitment to protectinf lives and property of the state’s citizens.
The governor stated this during a special visit to the scene of the recent truck accident on the Gombe metropolitan bypass.
He told the residents of the affected area that he was at the spot to “sympathise with the victims of the recent tragic accident which occurred on the 15th June and to inspect the road with the view of putting permanent solution to the perennial problem which claimed many lives and properties”.
The governor lamented over the recurrence of accidents along the road, attributing it to the sloping nature of the area and the indiscriminate erection of structures on the road; the attitude he said his government would never tolerate.
He noted that protection of lives and properties of the citizens is the primary aim of government, assuring that his government will continue to work with all relevant authorities to ensure protection of lives of the people.
“Our government will leave no stone unturned towards ensuring safety of lives and properties of the people which is the essence of government.
“As you can see, we are here together with heads of all relevant authorities and we shall continue to work together towards putting an end to this problem”, the governor assured.
He issued a stern warning against indiscriminate building of structures on right of ways.
“Our government will not tolerate indiscriminate erection of buildings and other structures on the right of ways or any other thing that will endanger people’s lives”, he warned
“We already had a taskforce under former Commissioner of police Mohammed Wakili which enforces compliance to rules and regulations toward ensuring safety of lives of our people”, he added.
Unveiling further measures, Governor
Inuwa said his government would take to curtail the perennial problem of recurrence accident on the road.
He said, “We resolved to put a barrier along the road to stop trucks and other heavy vehicles from passing through the road until when it is late at night, so that there is less traffic and less activities.
“We will also work with relevant authorities to divert traffic to go through alternative route along Yola Road where they can pass and linked up with Biu road through Kalshingi”.
The governor maintained that development is everybody’s business as all stakeholders must do their part for the interest of the public.
He said: “Whatever measures government would take will never yield positive results without support and cooperation of the public”.
He urged members of the public to avoid indiscriminate erection of houses, shops and other structures on the right of way and ensure compliance to laws guiding land administration.
The governor condoled the families of those who lost their lives in the recent accident involving a heavy truck which claimed 15 lives and injured many. He prayed Allah to grant the deceased eternal rest.
Speaking earlier, the Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Babatunde Ishola Babaita, assured of the readiness of his men to enforce the governor’s order to ensure public safety, warning that the law would take its course on whoever found wanting.
The Sector Commandant of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr M. N. Thenam, said he would deploy his men to ensure safety usage of the road and strict compliance to the new orders issued by the governor.
The governor was accompanied to the scene by some traditional leaders, commissioners, special advisers and heads of security agencies and other relevant institutions, among others.