Some residents of Toto Local Government Area (LGA) of Nasarawa State on Saturday, applauded Gov. Abdullahi Sule for the commencement of work on the upgrade of the 48.6 kilometres Toto/Umaisha Road.
A cross section of residents spoke to members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), who were in Toto as part of a state-wide tour to inspect projects executed by the state government.
The residents said that the commencement of work on the upgrade of the road had brought great relief to the people of the area.
Malam Jibrin Liman, Chief Imam of Ugya Central Mosque said that the deplorable condition of the road had been a source of great concern as it had made the area prone to criminality.
Liman said the upgrade of the road would ease the transportation of their farm produce to the market as they were predominantly farmer.
He added that it also linked so many communities to Nasarawa Local Government Area as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Chief Imam thanked the governor for keeping his promise to the people.
He thanked the governor for keeping to his promise to upgrade the road.
Also, Mr Mohammed Umar, Councillor representing Ugya Electoral Ward, said the road would improve the economic welbeing of the people.
“As a representative of the people, I am the most happiest because the lives of my people is being touched positively by the governor.
“I will appeal the company handling the project to maintain the tempo of work and deliver on time and according to specifications,” he said.
Mr Yahaya Usman, a commercial driver, expressed joy with the upgrade of the road, saying it would go a long way to reduce the rate of road crashes.
According to him, the road had become a death trap and causing so much damage to their vehicles.
Mr Yusuf Isiaka, General Manager (GM) Ela Engineering and Construction Nigeria LTD, the firm handling the project, said that the 48.6 km road was awarded at the cost of N4 billion.
The GM explained that the contract was for the upgrade the road from surface coating to nylon asphalt.
He promised that the company would deliver quality job on the project within the stipulated 12 months.
He, therefore, appealed for the support of people of the area in order to deliver on the job. (NAN).