The Sokoto State Government has awarded contracts for the construction of 1,365 kilometres of rural roads across the state’s 23 Local Government Areas.
The Special Adviser to Governor Ahmed Aliyu on Rural Roads, Malami Muhammad Galadanchi, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Sokoto on the administration’s achievements in the rural roads sector from 2023 to date.
Galadanchi said some of the roads had been completed and commissioned, while others had been completed and were awaiting commissioning or were at various stages of execution.
He explained that the projects were being implemented under three categories: asphalt, surface dressing and feeder roads.
According to the special adviser, the projects included the 9.5-kilometre Gada-Illah-Gari-Dutse-Tabanni Road and several roads in Tambuwal Local Government Area, totalling more than 100 kilometres.
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He listed some of the Tambuwal projects as the 23-kilometre Dogondaji-Nabaguda-Yagawal-Tambuwal Road and the 21.18-kilometre Faga-Alasan-Romon Liman Road, among others.
Galadanchi disclosed that the government had, about two months earlier, directed the department to identify an additional 530 kilometres of rural roads for construction.
He said consultants had already been engaged to undertake the design of the additional roads.
“When the 530 kilometres are added to the ongoing 1,365 kilometres, the total will reach 1,895 kilometres of rural roads under the present administration,” Galadanchi stated.
The special adviser also disclosed that the administration was constructing three modern markets in Illela, Gada and Bodinga Local Government Areas.
He explained that each market would comprise a grain market and an abattoir, adding that one of them was expected to be ready for commissioning within the next one to two months.
Galadanchi attributed the administration’s focus on rural roads to the need to improve access to healthcare, education, markets and agricultural communities.
“Without roads, people cannot go to school, access hospitals or move farm produce to the market. We want to have access to the towns, markets and farms. That means we are creating access to the world,” he stressed.
On payments to contractors, Galadanchi said the government was paying contractors based on certificates submitted for completed stages of work.
The special adviser commended Governor Aliyu for prioritising rural road development as part of his administration’s nine-point Smart Agenda.
On the 2027 general elections, Galadanchi maintained that residents of rural communities had witnessed the impact of the administration’s projects and would support continuity.
He noted that some communities had demanded the construction of the roads for between 40 and 70 years before the projects were awarded
