Sokoto State Government has completed and commissioned several rural road projects as part of efforts to connect farming communities and ease the transportation of agricultural produce across the state.
The Special Adviser to Governor Ahmed Aliyu on Rural Roads Development, Hon. Malami Muhammad Galandachi, disclosed this while highlighting the administration’s achievements in the sector.
Galandachi said the government had identified, designed and awarded contracts for about 1,365 kilometres of rural roads, with projects currently at different stages of completion.
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He said while some of the roads had been completed and commissioned, others were awaiting commissioning, with construction work continuing on several others.
“We have identified, discovered, designed and awarded contracts for about 1,365 kilometres, which are all at various levels of completion,” he said.
“Some are completed and commissioned, some are completed and waiting for commissioning, and some are at various levels of completion.”
According to him, the completed projects are located in different parts of the state and include feeder roads, surface-dressed roads and asphalt roads.
Galandachi cited the 23-kilometre road linking communities around Tambuwal, stretching from Dogondaji through Napa Guda and Yagawal to Tambuwal, as one of the completed projects.
He also listed the 21.18-kilometre road from Afag Alasan to Optimal Liman in Tambuwal, as well as a 14.7-kilometre asphalt road linking Nizawiya, Ngongoriyaya, Ngoromedaji and Ngongonduko communities.
The special adviser said the improved road network had begun to ease transportation challenges faced by rural residents, particularly farmers who previously found it difficult and expensive to move their produce to markets.
He cited onion-producing communities as an example, saying transportation costs had dropped significantly following the improvement of access roads.
“Before we started this road, a bag of onions from Sete to Gada was N10,000. Now, trailers can go there and load directly,” he said.
Galandachi disclosed that the government had also identified an additional 530 kilometres of rural roads for development, bringing the total network covered under the programme to approximately 1,895 kilometres.
He said the investment was aimed at providing easier access to farms, markets, schools and healthcare facilities across rural communities.
“The importance of roads cannot be overemphasised. Without roads, you cannot go to school; without roads, you cannot go to hospital; and without roads, you cannot carry your food from the farm to the market,” he said.
The adviser also revealed that construction was ongoing on three markets in Illela, Gada and Bodinga.
He said the markets, which were at different stages of completion, would feature grain markets, abattoirs and other facilities designed to support commercial activities and improve the local economy.
Galandachi, however, appealed to residents to protect the completed roads and other public infrastructure, warning against vandalism, digging up roads and the construction of unauthorised speed bumps.
“This is public money. If it is yours or mine, nobody will allow that to happen,” he said.
“We are not going to take it lightly if anybody is caught trying to misuse the road.”
He assured residents that the administration would sustain its investment in rural infrastructure, stressing that improved road connectivity was essential to unlocking economic opportunities and improving the livelihoods of communities that had waited for decades for government intervention.
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