5th September, 2017
Daffo community in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau has decried the deplorable state of the only road linking it with the rest of the world, urging the state government to “urgently intervene”.
Mr Mafulul Makwin, Chairman, Daffo Community Development Association, made the appeal on Tuesday in Daffo, when he led youths of the area on a manual repair of some sections of the road.
The road links the area to Bokkos and Panyam in Plateau, and Wamba in Nasarawa State.
NAN also reports that contract for the construction of the road was awarded in 2003, but was abandoned by the contractor after constructing a bridge in the outskirts of Daffo.
“The road links Daffo to six districts within Bokkos; its dilapidated state has inflicted so much pain on its users.
“It has been very difficult for the rural dwellers to take their farm produce to the markets and this has a telling effect on our economy.
“The situation is particularly bad during the raining season because large-scale buyers of Irish Potatoes, maize, ground nut, sugar cane, yam and others crops cannot access the area,” he said.
While acknowledging that it was a federal road, he appealed to the Plateau government to intervene so as to ameliorate the suffering of the people and boost the area’s economy.
Mr Jonathan Mawiyau, Plateau Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, who also participated in the manual rehabilitation of the road, described the community’s effort as “timely”.
Mawiyau, who hails from the community, said that Bokkos was the hub of agriculture in Plateau, hence the need to make its roads accessible.
“Worldwide, the name Bokkos is synonymous with Irish Potato; the product is produced in commercial quantity here, so it is incumbent on government to support such efforts for maximum benefits.
“The road has been a clog in our wheel of progress; government should intervene, especially since we are focused on diversifying the economy,” he said.
The Commissioner called on the Federal Government to re-mobilize the contractor back to site to complete the work.
On his part, Mr Simon Angyol, Chairman, Interim Management Committee of Bokkos Local Government, commended the community for the effort and charged them to sustain it.
He lamented that the bad state of the road had, over time, affected the revenue base of Plateau, ad called for quick intervention by government.
Angyol appealed to the Federal Government to rehabilitate the road to ease the movement of people and goods in the area.