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The prolong deplorable roads in Bassa Local Governnent Area of Kogi State will soon be a thing of the past as the state government has captured rehabilitation of roads in the area in the 2022 budget.
The Commissioner for Rural Development, Hon. Daniel O’Neil Ejigbo, disclosed this in Lokoja on Monday during an interactive session with members of the Federated Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi State Council.
He described the deplorable nature of roads in the local government as of peculiar and a serious concern to the state government, adding that government was determined to bail out the people of the problem.
Our Correspondent recalls that Bassa Local Governnent Area, which was created in 1976 and one of the oldest local governments has been battling with bad road for some years running.
On Monday, some people from the area used the opportunity provided by a private radio station in Lokoja,, Grace FM 95.5 in its programme,”Oga Driver”, to cryout to the state government, to bail them out of the problem.
Our Correspondent reports that”Oga Driver” is a programme aimed at highlighting issues bordering on roads as well as checking the conduct of motorists, especially the drivers, to ease traffic for commuters.
On Kupa community in Lokoja Local Governnent also of the state, said to be experiencing serious road problem, the Commissioner promised to look into the problem for meaningful solution.
According to him, he will soon lead members of chapel to the community for on the spot assessment, with a view to proffering appropriate solution.
He described the interaction as the “marriage” between his Ministry and the journalists in the state in the collective efforts to develop the rural areas and make life comfortable for the grassroots.
Ejigbo, therefore, solicited the cooperation of members of the fourth estate of the realm in realising government’s goals and objectives in the execution of its rural policies and programmes.
On vandalism of government equipment in the rural areas, Ejibo called on the rural populace to project projects for them to derive maximum benefit from such efforts.
“If government can commit huge financial resources to execute projects in rural communities, we expect the people of the communites, concerned, to take the protection of such projects as their top priority by securing them,” he said.
Earlier in his remark, the Chairman of the chapel, Mr Michael Abu ,commended the commissioner for his prompt response to the request by the members of the chapel to rob minds with him, on the activities of his Ministry, even at short notice.
He said as community newspaper publishers and Journalists, it behooves on the members to interface with public office holders on the need to place emphasis on the development of Rural areas.
