By Emma Ogbuehi
Despite pressure from operators of heavy duty vehicles, Niger State Government says it will not go back on the restriction order on such classes of vehicles plying the state-owned roads. The order on road closure against articulated vehicles, came to force on the September 15, 2020.
The renewed commitment to the order comes on the heels of the assurance by the State government that its position will be reviewed as event concerning the closure unfolds.
The state government stressed that its decision to close all state government roads was done within the confines of law stressing that adequate consultations and sensitization with relevant stakeholders were made and a two-week notice served to general public as well as relevant road transport organizations before the roads were barricaded.
As such, the state government will not relent on it oars to ensure that the State owned roads are not accessed by articulated vehicles, the heavy trucks are however free to use all the Federal roads that transverse the State.
The State government said beyond the current closure to fast track the reconstruction of the Minna-Bida Road, measures would be evolved such as weigh-bridges to ensure that the movements of articulated vehicles on the State owned roads are regulated to avoid heavy flow of traffic beyond the capacity of the roads.
It enjoined the Federal government to raise up to the occasion and do the needful on if not all, some of the Federal Roads in the State.
Chairman of the Infrastructure, Project Monitoring and Implementation Committee who is also the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Ibrahim Balarabe, who briefed Journalists on behalf of the State government, reaffirmed its position on the matter.
“There is no going back on Niger state government’s decision on the ban on articulated trucks from plying the state-owned roads. We still stand on our position and will not relent on that. Our roads still remain closed to articulated trucks” he stated.