Road Blockage: Niger Youths Issue 48-hour Ultimatum To Tanker Drivers To Vacate Highway

A coalition of youth groups in Niger State has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to protesting tanker drivers to vacate the Bida-Lambata, Lambata-Izom highways.

President of the Niger State chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Bello Barau Sherif, gave the ultimatum on behalf of the groups while addressing newsmen in Minna on Monday.

According to Sherif, the protesting drivers have heightened the pains of poor governance already faced by the citizens in the state.

He added that the blockage of the road by the members of Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and Association of Tanker Drivers had caused citizens and innocent travellers untold hardship, pains, and uncertainties.

Sherif chided representatives of the state at the National Assembly for keeping quiet on the neglect of Niger State roads by the Federal Government.

He said, “Over the past few years, many of us have got the reasons to discuss and analyze the state of affairs in our darling Niger State.

“The pulse and the trend have been too ugly despite continuous hope and unflinching optimism and patriotism demonstrated by all to see the state positioned for greatness, considering the number of Trunk A roads traversing the length and breadth of Niger state, being a gateway between South and Northern part of the country.”

Other associations represented at the briefing included the state chapter of Youth Lead Nigeria, Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), Northern Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Niger State Students in Diaspora, Concerned Shiroro Youths, North Central Youth Parliament (NCYP), National Associations of Nigerian Students, Niger East Youth Frontiers (NEYFRO) and Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN).

The coalition called on President Muhammadu Buhari and federal lawmakers from the State to ensure that part of the new loans sought by the Federal Government captured the reconstruction of Lambatta-Lapai-Bida and Jebba-Tegina-Birnin Gwari federal roads.

THE WHISTLER had earlier reported how the blockade led to the destruction of food items worth millions of naira meant for markets in Lagos and other parts of the South.

The blockade which is already in its fourth day has also forced commuters to ply alternative, albeit dangerous, routes.