Dust: Benue Residents Protest Alleged Abandoned Road Projects

Residents of Nyiman/Achussah Layout in Makurdi, Benue State, have protested the alleged abandonment of road projects in their community, lamenting that excessive dust from the graded roads poses serious health risks.

The residents, who staged a peaceful protest, called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to prioritise the completion of ongoing road projects across the state before embarking on new ones.

They expressed concern that the delay in completing the roads had exposed residents to excessive dust, which they said could endanger their health.

One of the protesters, who identified himself as Simon Torkuma, told LEADERSHIP that the residents were not opposed to the governor’s development efforts but wanted road projects to be executed in phases to ensure timely completion.

“We are not condemning the government, Governor Hyacinth Alia is working and that is the fact but he should be doing the road projects in batches. When he finishes tarring one or two roads he can move to another road. Scattering many roads and delaying in completion pose health risk due to the excessive dust inhaling by the residents,” he said.

Torkuma, however, commended the governor for opening up communities in Makurdi through road construction, noting that the administration might not be aware that work had stalled on some projects.

“The governor is doing a good job, he may not even be aware that some road projects are stagnant and work has been stopped. I commend Alia for opening Makurdi communities with tarred roads,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Benue State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) condemned the Alia administration over what it described as a growing record of abandoned road projects across the state.

The party described the peaceful protest by residents of Achussah/Nyiman Layout as a damning indictment of the government’s failure to fulfil its promises.

In a statement issued by its State Publicity Secretary, Bright Yima Antyo, the PDP said the protest reflected growing frustration among residents over the administration’s handling of infrastructure projects.

“The PDP observes that the protest is far more than a local community grievance. It is a reflection of the mounting anger and frustration of Benue people who have become increasingly disillusioned with an administration that appears more interested in publicity, propaganda and ceremonial project flag-offs than the actual delivery of public infrastructure,” the statement said.

However, the Benue State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Solomon Iorpev, appealed to the residents to remain patient, insisting that Governor Alia was committed to delivering quality and durable roads across the state.

Iorpev dismissed claims that any road project had been abandoned, maintaining that construction work was ongoing in different parts of Makurdi.

He also accused the PDP of instigating residents against the state government, insisting that the administration would complete the projects.

“Governor Hyacinth Alia has not abandoned any project. The project has not been abandoned. We are appealing to the people to be calm. If you come to the city centre, Makurdi you will see a lot of projects going on simultaneously. There are dualisation of roads and all of that. The completion of this project will happen and it will happen soon. The governor is not embezzling money like the previous PDP administration,” the commissioner stated.

Benue residents have lamented the delay in the completion of some road projects as they decried excessive dust.

To this end, residents of Nyiman/Achussah layout, Makurdi had staged a peaceful protest, alleging that the graded road project in their area was abandoned.

They claimed that the dusty road pose serious health risk to them, calling on Governor Hyacinth Alia to complete the ongoing road projects across the state before embarking on new projects.

One of the protesters who identified himself as Simon Torkuma told LEADERSHIP that, “We are not condemning the government, Governor Hyacinth Alia is working and that is the fact but he should be doing the road projects in batches. When he finishes tarring one or two roads he can move to another road. Scattering many roads and delaying in completion pose health risk due to the excessive dust inhaling by the residents”

“The governor is doing a good job, he may not even be aware that some road projects are stagnant and work has been stopped. I commend Alia for opening Makurdi communities with tarred roads”

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Benue State chapter said it condemned the Alia administration, “over its growing record of abandoned road projects across the state, describing the peaceful protest by residents of Achussah/Nyiman Layout in Makurdi as a damning indictment of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises”

In a statement issued by the PDP State Publicity Secretary, Bright Yima Antyo, said, “The PDP observes that the protest is far more than a local community grievance. It is a reflection of the mounting anger and frustration of Benue people who have become increasingly disillusioned with an administration that appears more interested in publicity, propaganda and ceremonial project flag-offs than the actual delivery of public infrastructure”

Reacting, Benue State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Solomon Iorpev,
while appealing to the residents to be patient as governor Hyacinth Alia is delivering quality and durable massive roads said no project was abandoned.

Iorpev accused PDP of instigating residents against the government of Governor Alia, “Governor Hyacinth Alia has not abandoned any project. The project has not been abandoned. We are appealing to the people to be calm. If you come to the city centre, Makurdi you will see a lot of projects going on simultaneously. There are dualisation of roads and all of that. the completion of this project will happen and it will happen soon. The governor is not embezzling money like the previous PDP administration” the commissioner stated.