By Ibrahim Ablaba
The establishment of the over $200 million Dollar lithium processing factory in Endo, Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, is a crucial factor in the immediate rehabilitation of the Keffi-Nasarawa-Toto-Abaji road as President Tinubu is expected to commission the factory soon.
During Governor Sule's visit to the President, he informed him and pled with him to come and commission the largest lithium processing plant in the whole of Africa which the President had obliged.
The President cannot come to the lithium plant in Endo when the road is deplorable and immotorable. This stands tall in the Federal Government's decision to facilitate the speedy rehabilitation work to enable Mr. President access the road to commission the multi-million dollar project.
Also, at a waste management event in Karu Local Government Secretariat recently, the Governor emphasized at several times that the President would visit Endo in Nasarawa to see for himself what the state has attracted to its corridors. The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake visited Endo countlessly to see the wonders in the Chinese factory Governor Sule has brought to Nasarawa State and how the Renewed Hope administration can help in making it a sustainable reality.
Mr. President, Nigerians and the global community who would be coming to the commissioning ceremony need an access road to the project site. It is a clear indication and justification that Governor Sule has walked his talk.
As a student of history, years after years, contracts were awarded but contractors were reported to have disappeared or have remained unknown with no one ready to provide credible information about the state of the awards of the contracts and why it has been sustainably deplorable at the expense of the Nigerian citizens that ply these roads to make their ends meet.
Our Keffi-Nasarawa-Toto-Abaji road which has constantly made headlines. It has been a deathtrap to commuters not just due to its long-standing bad nature but it has been a haven for kidnappers too. And people had to use it still in order to squarely address their socio-economic needs.
Now, Mr. President has taken a giant step to relieve the anguish of the Nasarawa people in particular and Nigerians in general as the road would undergo rehabilitation to give it a total overhaul and relieve the predicament of the people.
This Saturday, Governor Sule would lead a team of the state stakeholders with the Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, heading the Federal Government's delegation to inspect the gruesomely nightmarish Keffi-Nasarawa-Toto-Abaji road and flag it off for immediate rehabilitation in anticipation of the Presidential visit.
Sincerely, we must commend Governor Sule for ensuring that this long-awaited yearning has come to pass. His consistent and persistent appeals to the President to consider the road reconstruction must not be left unappreciated. People of Nasarawa State and Nigerians would forever commend the Tinubu Presidency and Governor Sule for renewing the hope of the masses.
Governor Sule took this up and always remained on the neck of the President whenever they met reminding him on the deplorable condition of the federal road and now we have seen the result of his appeal and plea. We must resoundingly state that we appreciate President Bola Tinubu and our Governor, Abdullahi Sule.
Lest it is forgotten, no one should claim responsibility of what he/she has not done for the sake of politics. A good leader is a leader of truth.
Governor Sule remained silent to the public on the road not but we knew that he had been persistent in pushing for federal government's attention to give life to the road among others silently. He is a true democrat not a noisemaking politician. And today, it has come to life.
We would commend people of goodwill, thought leaders and we would stand against prevaricators and agents provocateurs of democracy and development in Nasarawa State.
Ablaba is a Keffi-based Human Rights advocate and Convener of the Coalition of Nasarawa Advocates for Democracy and Development.
