From Bashir Rabe Mani, Sokoto
Sokoto State Government has linked no fewer than 123 agrarian communities iby successfully completing and commissioning a 14.7km road that gulped over N4.3billion
Our Correspondent in Sokoto reports that this was disclosed on Tuesday in Yar-Gada town, Gwadabawa Local Government Area of the state by the State Coordinator of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project ( RAAMP), Engr. Malami Umar Tambuwal.
He spoke at a sensitization programme organised by the agency as part of its sustained efforts to ensure the proper usage of the various road projects constructed by the state government across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
The Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, RAAMP, is a World Bank and Federal Government initiative being implemented in Sokoto and other participating states to improve rural road infrastructure and agricultural marketing.
The project focuses on constructing and rehabilitating rural access roads, river crossings, and agro-logistics facilities to link farming communities to markets and reduce post-harvest losses.
In Sokoto State, RAAMP is a key part of Gov. Ahmed Aliyu’s infrastructure drive, with several rural roads already awarded to ease the movement of farm produce and improve livelihoods.
Beyond roads, RAAMP also targets institutional strengthening and sustainability.
The project supports the establishment of a Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Agency, RAAMA, in each state to manage rural roads and ensure maintenance after construction.
It also provides training for rural communities, engineers, and contractors on road maintenance, climate-resilient construction, and agribusiness.
The goal is to create a system where rural infrastructure does not collapse after a few seasons, but continues to serve farmers and traders for years.
For Sokoto farmers, RAAMP is expected to cut transportation costs, open up new markets, and reduce the impact of insecurity on the movement of goods.
By connecting remote villages to urban centers, the project directly supports the state government’s agenda on food security, job creation, and poverty reduction.
He listed the benefiting local of the 14.7km Gudurrga to Lukuwa to Yar Gada to Malikawa to Shala Kware as Kware, Gwadabawa and Wurno LGAs.
According to him, the exercise was to enlighten the people on how to observe basic traffic rules with a view to preventing road traffic crashes that always lead to the loss of lives and properties.
Engr Malami Umar Tambuwal also commended Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto for prioritizing the provision of road infrastructure as part of his people-centric 9-Point Smart Agenda.
Also speaking, the Director-General, Rural Access and Roads Agency ( RARA), Alhaji Abubakar Yahaya Ibrahim, promised that adequate arrangements have been made by the agency to be nsure the routine maintenance of all completed roads across the state.
Alhaji Ibrahim also underscored the importance of road infrastructure in bolstering the socio-economic lives of the people of the state.
According to him, all hands will be put on the deck to ensure the safety of the those daily plying the roads, urging the people of the state to vote Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto and all APC candidates in the forthcoming 2027 general elections to reciprocate the invaluable gesture.
The RAAMP National Project Coordinator, Engr. Nuhu Bodinga, described the 14.7km road as a model under the project across Nigeria.
“This road is the best among all roads constructed in all the 19 states where RAAMP operates,” he added.
The Sokoto State Sector Commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps ( FRSC), Alhaji Adamu Argungu, decried the high rate of accidents on Nigerian highways, saying, “that is why we are to enlighten you to guard against road traffic crashes.
“ Road uses must avoid speeding, use of cellphones while driving and all other traffic violations.
“We also want to catch these out pupils young so that they will imbibe the culture of safe driving as they grow up,” Argungu added.
Speaking on behalf of the benefitting communities, Alhaji Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Magaji, the Village Head of Yar Gada town, commended the agency for organising the all-important exercise in the area.
According to him, the event cannot come at a better time than now when roads in the benefiting communities are now enjoying the benefit of having to ply smooth roads contrary to the dilapidated ones they were having hitherto
While commending the Sokoto State Government, RAAMP and its diligent personnel, the Village Head called for he construction of speed bumps to ensure effective speed control by motorists.
He, however, urged the state government to construct additional classroom blocks in the only primary school in the town, as well as rehabilitative the dilapidated ones.
Our Correspondent also reports that a similar sensitization exercise was conducted in the neighbouring Lukuwa community in Wurno Local Government Area of the state.
