Kogi govt opens alternate route to check flooding

The Kogi State government has opened up a five-kilometre alternate route in Nyamanyama village along Ganaja – Ajaokuta Road, to serve as a bypass in the event of flooding.

The proactive step was taken by the Kogi State Flood Disaster Response Team to ameliorate possible hardship, in case the main Ganaja road is obstructed by flood, as waters approach a danger threshold.

Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo had earlier directed the team, to immediately open up an alternate road to ensure motorists do not suffer from the hardship of possible blockage of the main road by the increasing level of flood waters in the area. He reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that motorists and passengers were not subjected to hellish experience on the road.

Chairman of the Flood Disaster Response Team and Deputy Governor, Joel Salifu Oyibo, said the team had responded swiftly to the governor’s directive.

The State Commissioner for Works and a member of the team, Mohammed Yusuf, expressed satisfaction with the progress of work. He stressed that the measure had shown “responsive governance on the part of the governor.”

His Information and Communications counterpart, Kingsley Fanwo, who spoke to newsmen after inspecting the work yesterday, pointed out that the flood had assumed a devastating dimension. He said the Ganaja-Ajaokuta road remained the gateway to the South-East and South-South, and is used by hundreds of thousands of commuters daily.