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The Managing Director of the Kaduna Roads Agency, KADRA, Abdullahi Baba-Ahmed, has said the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai concentrated its urban renewal and road projects in four of Kaduna State’s 23 local government areas.
Mr Baba-Ahmed, however, said the administration of Governor Uba Sani had adopted a more inclusive approach by spreading road and other infrastructure projects across all 23 LGAs, particularly in rural communities.
He stated this during an interview on Monday, saying the Sani administration had initiated 160 road projects covering 1,355 kilometres across the state, with about 60 per cent either completed or under construction.
“When His Excellency Governor Uba Sani came on board, we carried out a statistic. We realised that the previous administration focused only on urban centres,” he said.
“Out of the 23 local governments, we have only four local governments within the Kaduna metropolis. They are Kaduna South, Kaduna North, Chikun and Igabi. The previous administration focused on these local governments and called it urban renewal.
“However, 70 per cent of the urban renewal projects were done only in Kaduna North Local Government.”
According to the KADRA boss, an assessment conducted by the current administration showed that 12 LGAs had not benefited from a single completed road project in the preceding 12 years.
“Not a single road project was constructed in these local governments. Not a single kilometre was done from start to finish,” he said.
Mr Baba-Ahmed said six of the affected LGAs were in Southern Kaduna, arguing that residents in the area had been particularly disadvantaged by inadequate road infrastructure.
He said the decision by the Sani administration to prioritise rural roads was also driven by the importance of agriculture to Kaduna’s economy.
“Kaduna State is predominantly an agricultural state, and it will interest you to know that Kaduna is number one in maize production in the whole of Nigeria. Kaduna is number one in ginger production, number one in tomato production, number two in soybean production and also a major producer of grapes,” he said.
He said a significant proportion of the state’s agricultural production came from rural communities, making accessible road networks critical to reducing post-harvest losses and linking farmers to markets.
“So you can imagine that without road projects, the post-harvest losses that our farmers encounter will be enormous. His Excellency realised that the state government was losing so much and came up with the idea of rural transformation,” he said.
According to him, the strategy is designed to connect farmlands to markets, households to businesses and workplaces, as well as communities to hospitals and schools.
He cited Ikulu community in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, where he said children previously had to cross a river to attend school.
“In some communities, they only need a bridge; they don’t even need roads. Like Ikulu community in Zangon Kataf, children need to cross the river before going to school. Whenever it rains, they can’t go to school.
“His Excellency said, ‘No! Go and construct that bridge.’ So we constructed a bridge. As I am talking to you, that bridge has been completed. Children are finding it easy to go to school.”
Mr Baba-Ahmed said the geographical spread of road projects was one of the major differences between the current administration and its predecessors.
“In just three years, there is no single local government out of the 23 local governments of Kaduna State that has not benefited from a road project under His Excellency Senator Uba Sani’s administration,” he said.
“In all the 23 LGAs, there are either ongoing or completed projects.”
He listed Maigana, Ikara, Kudan and Kubau among beneficiaries in Zone One; Birnin Gwari and Giwa in Zone Two; and Kagarko, Kauru, Kaura, Jaba, Sanga and Zangon Kataf among beneficiaries in Zone Three.
“In Sanga Local Government, the contractor has turned the entire Sanga into a construction site. It is constructing a number of roads, all connecting to township roads within the headquarters of Sanga,” he said.
He also highlighted the 22-kilometre asphalt road linking Gwantu through Kiban to Gododo, connecting Sanga and Jema’a LGAs, saying the project included two major water bridges.
“His Excellency has so far initiated 160 new road projects, totalling 1,355 kilometres across these 23 local governments in just three years. This is an unprecedented development in the history of Kaduna State,” Mr Baba-Ahmed said.
He further disclosed that the administration had completed a 35-kilometre asphalt road which, according to him, was the longest road constructed in the state in more than two decades.
He said the road runs from Gadar Gayam in Igabi LGA through Gwaraji and Wusar to Kujama Junction in Chikun LGA.
According to him, the project had previously posed significant construction challenges because of a major water bridge and difficult soil conditions.
“His Excellency Uba Sani was determined. He said we have to take the bull by the horns. We have to deliver this project,” he said.
Mr Baba-Ahmed also mentioned another 36-kilometre road traversing one of the state’s major agricultural areas.
He said the route was previously a footpath and that residents had to swim across the River Kaduna because there was no road access to the other side.
“But now you can drive comfortably on an asphaltic road to Igabi,” he said.
In Birnin Gwari, he said the administration had initiated a 36-kilometre road project in an area where, according to him, no asphalt road had been constructed for about 20 years.
He said the project was currently about 60 per cent complete, adding that the contractor had committed to delivering it by December.
The KADRA managing director also rejected claims that the Sani administration had underperformed, describing such criticisms as politically motivated.
“Honestly, that is mischief, because His Excellency believes in physical development — what you can feel and touch,” he said.
“When you compare the 12 years of the previous administration with three years of the current administration, the current administration is far ahead.
“But you know it is political season, and you cannot stop people from expressing their opinions. However, such claims are mischievous and not grounded in the facts on the ground.”
He challenged critics of the administration to visit Kaduna State and assess the projects for themselves.
Mr Baba-Ahmed further claimed that the Sani administration had completed about 95 per cent of road projects inherited from the previous administration that had been abandoned.
“In Zaria, for example, His Excellency inherited the Dogon Bauchi to Kakiyayi road, which was only 20 per cent paid. The current administration paid the balance of 80 per cent, and the project has now been completed and commissioned,” he said.
Other inherited projects he listed as completed or nearing completion included the Hawan Yangoro road across Zaria and Sabon Gari LGAs, Sultan Road, Ohinoyi Road, Aliyu Makama to Kabala Costain dual carriageway, Sultan Sureme Road, Rabah Road from Arewa House to Rigasa Railway Station, Nasarawa Flour Mill Road and Pan Drive.
In Southern Kaduna, he mentioned the Kafanchan road from Unguwan Rimi through Baju to NEPA Roundabout and Hospital Road among projects inherited and continued by the current administration.
“We inherited the contractors handling the jobs and continued with them. Thes
e are major projects abandoned by the previous administration and now completed,” he said.
