Even as apprehension continues to mount on the envisaged closure of the Abuja international Airport and diversion of flights to Kaduna, facts have emerge that the Abuja – kaduna road is being patched to reduce accidents; contrary to expectations that the road is being reconstructed for use by motorists.

Minister of Powers, works and housing, Mr. Raji Babatunde Fashola disclosed this after an inspection tour of ongoing works on the road.

The minister also said that it was the job of the government to ensure safe use of roads and that it was not going to give it up.

On the outcome of his inspection, Fashola said the work on the road was an emergency repair and not a reconstruction which he said would come later after an ongoing procurement exercise on it is concluded.

According to him, the repair works would essentially remove the potholes and reduce the risk of accidents.

“The work that is being done here, you must understand this is a road of more than 160 kilometres. We are at kilometre 130 from Abuja. So, the work that is being done as I said is an emergency intervention essentially to remove the dangerous potholes and eliminate potential hazards that could cause accidents for motorists on this road.

“So, the road needs to be rebuilt because it has been subjected to a lot of axle load. But what we are doing right now is emergency repairs to remove the potholes to make the road safe for commuters ahead of the planned reconstruction and repair of the Abuja Airport runway which will lead to a diversion of air traffic and passengers from Abuja to Kaduna which will start on the 8th of March,” he said.

He added that the role of his ministry was to make the road motorable and safe for commuters, and that it would be delivered on time for use.

“You can see that some sections have been resurfaced completely but that is not the main reconstruction of the road; let us be clear about what is happening here.

“The whole purpose of this contract is to cover the potholes on the 160 kilometres road two lanes on one side and two lanes on the other side; so that is really to cover 640 kilometres of potholes; that is a contract for N1 billion.

“So, let’s be clear about that. This is emergency short term. When the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) gives the no objection contract, we will start when the airport runway would have been completed,” he stated.