Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, the Nigerian capital city are groaning over an abandoned community road connecting Kwali Area Council to over six communities.
The road that connects Kwali to Ijah Dabuta, Ijah Pada, Bowolo, Daka, Tampe, and other communities in Yangoji Ward of kwali Area Council was awarded the sum of N719.407 million in 2020 and has since been abandoned, MAWA Foundation has learned.
Recounting their ordeal, residents say Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, the FCT minister of State, visited the communities in 2020 to flag off the road construction.
And, during her visit, she told residents that the road construction was awarded by the Federal Executive Council while assuring them of its speedy completion.
The locals told MAWA that shortly after her visit, some persons came to measure the road, an action that gave them hope of having an access road. However, they said since, after the measurement, nothing has been done on the road, leaving the community without any hope.
This is even as the locals in different narratives recounted how the dilapidated road is affecting their businesses and making them poorer. Farmers and petty traders who depend on the road to move their goods say they are finding transporting their products difficult because there is no access road.
Residents of the communities that depend on the road to visit Kwali Market, a major market they depend upon for their business and commercial activities, say they cannot go to the market because there is no access road while pointing out that the situation gets worse during the raining season.
Mr. Usman Mohammed, a Community Champion, speaking to MAWA over the development, says the road is terribly bad while it is having huge effects on the rural people.
Mr. Usman narrated how he fell off a bike that was conveying him to one of the communities. A situation he said happened because of the bad condition of the road.
“Yesterday I fell off a bike conveying me to one of the communities because the road is very bad. I thank God I did not sustain injuries” Usman told MAWA.
“It is hard to believe that after the FCT Minister visited the community to flag off N719.4 million road construction in 2020, the only thing that has happened were few men who came, measured it and disappeared till today”, Usman added.
For those who watch FCT on television, having a glimpse of the city centre will make them think there is no huge poverty here, FCT residents suffer huge poverty and inequality, one of the residents said.
The resident in affirmative voices, appealed to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCTA), to help fix the road to enable them to have access road for their businesses and farming.
MAWA Foundation could not immediately reach out to the FCT Minister and FCTA for official responses.