A group has asked to the Federal Government to fast-track the rehabilitation and dualisation of the Makurdi-Enugu road.
The group, League of South East Corporate Executives(LSCE), in a statement on Friday, said amongst others, that when completed, the road would ease the travelling pains of those commuters by many hours as well as reduce the cost of transportation.
The road, part of a loan the Nigerian government received from the Chinese government through the Export- Import Bank of China for the rehabilitation and dualisation of roads -one of the beneficiaries being the roads from Keffi to Markudi and Makurdi to Enugu State.
Right now, however, only one phase of the project – the Keffi to Makurdi – has been completed, leaving the Makurdi – Enugu leg, outstanding.
According to the group’s President, Mr. Chiedozi Nwosu-Uwalaka, the Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen in an interview with journalists in Abuja in 2014, stated that when the funds from the Export- Import Bank were disbursed for the dualisation of the Keffi – Makurdi to Night Mile in Enugu State, toll fees would be charged on the roads so as to recoup the funds and repay Export-Import Bank of China which is the new template.
As a result of the budgeting, the roads from Keffi to Makurdi have been fully funded and therefore referred to as the First Phase.
The group explained that the safety and security of individuals on the roads would be improved while the cost of goods and services from the Northern part of the country would also reduce drastically as traders would no longer be affected by a high cost of transportation which usually influenced the costing of their products- in order to maximize profits.
“The benefits of the completion of the Second Phase include but are not limited to the number of hours spent on the road as a result of travelling would be reduced by There would also be a drastic reduction in the accident rates by a reasonable percentage; cost of transportation would be reduced as the time travel hours would have drastically reduced. This would allow commuters transport passengers in due time without the issues of bad roads and accidents. The cost of goods and services from the Northern part of the country would also reduce drastically as traders would not be affected by a high cost of transportation which would in turn affect the sales of products in order to maximize profits. The safety and security of individuals on the roads would be improved”, the group concluded.
