Claim: A business mogul and medical practitioner recently tweeted that the federal government is yet to make significant progress on the Zaria-Kano section of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria- Kano Highway, stating that only 40 percent of the road is yet to be rehabilitated while using an image of the road to back up his claim.
Verdict: The claim is false. Users of the roads who spoke to Daily Trust said work on the section of the road has gone beyond 80 percent and with a reduced time of travelling due to the extent of repairs. Also, a google image search indicated that the picture used in the post first appeared in a report by PRNigeria, an online publication.
Full Text
Shehu, who is also an activist and a government critic, in the tweet that was viewed over 300,000 times had 402 retweets; 237 quotes, 1,176 likes.
The tweet read “ZARIA TO KANO ROAD. Whoever is claiming that Zaria to Kano Road will be completed & handed over before May 29 is an irresponsible deceitful dreamer. Far from being completed, over 40% of the road remains in a state of disrepair as at 3pm of 7th May, 2023. Devil is a liar”
The tweet has drawn both condemnation and support.
MOSTLY INCORRECT
Background
The federal government awarded the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, on December 20, 2017.
The project is yet to be completed six years after it was initially awarded at N155 billion but later increased to N797bn, an increment of N642bn.
To make the 375km dual carriage road easy for construction as well as usage for commuters, it was divided into three zones of Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Zaria and Zaria-Kano.
With the construction missing various deadlines announced by the government, the Minister of Works and Housing, Raji Fashola, recently announced that the present administration will only be able to complete two of the three sections.
Fashola said the Kaduna-Zaria and Zaria-Kano, with a combined stretch of 210 kilometres, would be commissioned by the president before he leaves office.
Verification
In the tweet, Shehu cast doubt on the present administration’s claim to complete and commission the Zaria-Kano section due to huge part of the road that is still going through repair works.
He said just 60 percent work has been done, while other users this reporter spoke with believe the road has gone far beyond that.
For instance, Hussaini Ahmed, who plied the road on Friday 12, said the work on the section has gone beyond 80 percent even though there are stretches of the road that is yet to be overlaid with asphalt.
Ahmed said: “It is just three to four diversions that are still on the road, which signals that the other lane is yet to be completed. Apart from that, the entire stretch that is motorable has been laid with asphalt, which is the last work done on road repairs.”
He said since the work was a rehabilitation of the existing pathway, all asphalt of the old road has been scraped with the remaining work being asphalt to be laid.
Similarly, Isyaku Abdulhamid, who traveled on the road on May 9 corroborated the near completion of the road. He noted that the travelling time on the section has reduced.
When the Director of Highways, North West Zone, at the Ministry of Works and Housing, Engr. Wasiu Taiwo, was contacted, he assured that work on the section would be completed before the present administration completes its tenure.
But with the past experiences of the government missing previous deadlines, his statement would be held with a pinch of salt.
When asked the percentage of work done in the Zaria to Kaduna Section, he said it is up to 90 percent completed.
Old picture used to portray state of road
The picture that accompanied the tweet by Shehu is an old picture of the Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway.
A reverse image search revealed that the picture appeared on a media report by PRNigeria, an online publication.
Though the report does not state the section of the road, the report was published in June 2021 which documented how lives were lost on the road due to its bad shape and delay in its completion.
