The Nasarawa State Chapter of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has commended the Federal Government for the ongoing dualisation of the Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia .
The contract for the expansion of the 227.2 kms Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi dual carriageway way was awarded to the China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) in 2018 and to be completed in 2022.
The over US$500 million project is being funded 85 per cent from a Federal Government’s loan obtained from the Export-Import (EXIM) bank of China, while the remaining 15 per cent was being raised internally.
Mr Salihu Adamu, State Chairman of NURTW gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lafia.
According to Adamu, the dualisation of the road is apt considering its importance to the socio-economic development of the nation.
He noted that the road linking Nasarawa, Benue and the South Eastern states to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had been in deplorable condition over the years resulting in avoidable loss of lives and property from crashes.
Adamu pointed out that the Federal Government’s efforts at dualising the road would go a long way to curtail needles crashes.
He said that the dualisation would also help to decongest the road for safe transportation of agricultural produce and other goods and passengers.
The NURTW boss, however, appealed for the speedy completion of the road for the benefit of users.
He also appealed to the contractors handling the project to ensure the provision of adequate shoulder for the road.
“If the shoulder is wide enough, a driver can go down from the road in case of wrong overtaking or reckless driving by an oncoming vehicle to avoid collision,” he said.
On measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the Chairman said machinery had been put in place across motor parks in the state to ensure total adherence to the safety protocols.
He said that the use of facemasks by commercial drivers and passengers had been made compulsory in all motor parks in the state.
Adamu said the union had provided hand sanitisers, running water and soap as well as infrared thermometer to check temperature at motor parks.
He, therefore, appealed to Nigerians to take responsibility for their health so as to collectively curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the country. (NAN)