RTEAN decries deplorable state of roads

Alhaji Abdullahi Mohammmed, Vice-Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association (RTEAN), North-East zone, has decried the deplorable state of roads in the zone, saying that many of them have become death traps.

Mohammmed, in an interview on Thursday in Bauchi, said that incidences of flooding in the area had also contributed to the bad conditions of the roads.

While calling for urgent intervention by the authorities, he lamented that incessant flooding had been causing serious damage to the road infrastructure, thus posing threat to safety of lives in the region.

Mohammed, who is also the Chairman of RTEAN in Bauchi State, attributed the development to the use of substandard materials for the rehabilitation of the roads by past administrations.

“The fact is, if you construct a road without using quality materials, it means you do not want such road to last,” he said.

The RTEAN chief called on the Federal Government to come to the aid of motorists by ensuring proper rehabilitation of highways.

“There is also the need to provide more dual carriageways in the North-East to reduce the menace of flooding in the region.

“This is more pronounced on Bauchi-Kano road and Bauchi- Gombe-Adamawa-Taraba roads.

“It affects homes, communities and businesses, while it also disrupts vital services, resource flows and transport networks on those routes.

“The flood has washed away the bridge linking Bauchi, Ningi, Jigawa and Kano, thus forcing motorists to go through Drazo which is longer in distance and amounts to additional fuel consumption,” he said.

Mohammed, however, said that in spite of the challenges, the transport union had not increased transport fares.

“Another challenge of flooding is the gridlock usually caused by damaged bridges and roads owing to deep gullies.

“This has always left motorists stranded in the gridlock, sometimes for more than one hour.

“Unless something urgent and drastic is done, the situation will continue to have negative consequences on traffic, such as restricting movement of vehicles and affecting road networking generally,” he said.