On Tuesday, a group operating under the #FixGembuRoad Campaign renewed calls for the government to step in immediately to rebuild the Bali–Serti–Gembu road in Taraba State.
Citing the alleged long delays, worsening road conditions, and growing hardship for residents of the Mambilla Plateau in Sardauna Council, the group called on the relevant authorities to step in immediately during a press briefing in Jalingo, the state capital.
Together with co-convener Hassan Alhaji Audu Mamnga, the campaign’s convener, Mr. Joel David Yaji, they expressed their dissatisfaction with the slow progress of the N95.2 billion road project that SCC Nigeria Limited was given under the Federal Government’s NNPC Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme.
It’s not just tarmac on this road. It serves as our people’s lifeline, facilitating business, fostering education, providing healthcare, and tying families together. “It is unacceptable in its current state,” Yaji said.
The campaign team claims that because of the terrible state of the road, particularly between Maisamari and Nguroje, the roughly 374-kilometer trip from Jalingo to Gembu can now take up to two days.
They bemoaned how the situation had “damaged economic activity, disrupted education, and made healthcare services in the region nearly inaccessible.”
Even though the road is a Federal Government project and construction has started, the group stressed that the pace is much too slow. They demanded that government officials and elected representatives be held to higher standards of accountability and supervision.
They emphasized that the senator representing Sardauna, Gashaka, and Kurmi Federal Constituencies must continue to bring up the issue in the House of Representatives and communicate with the Federal Ministry of Works, while also urging the senator representing Taraba Central to sponsor motions and involve Senate committees to guarantee sufficient budgetary attention and oversight for the road project.
Additionally, they called on Taraba’s voice in the Federal Executive Council and the Minister of Regional Development to advocate for executive-level intervention to expedite the project’s completion.
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