The Senate has called on the Federal Government to direct the Federal Ministry of Works to re-award the contract for the reconstruction of the Bauchi-Ningi Federal Highway, citing the road’s worsening condition and its strategic importance as a key link between the North-East and North-West.
The upper chamber also urged the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to carry out immediate palliative repairs on the failed sections of the highway pending its full rehabilitation.
In addition, the Senate called on the Ministry of Works to begin the immediate rehabilitation and reconstruction of the road, describing the project as an urgent national priority.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Urgent Need for the Rehabilitation of the Bauchi-Ningi Federal Highway,” sponsored by Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), a former Deputy Senate Leader.
The Senate also mandated its Committee on Works to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the highway, engage relevant stakeholders and report back within four weeks with recommendations for legislative action.
Presenting the motion, Senator Ningi said the Bauchi-Ningi Federal Highway, constructed in the late 1980s, had suffered decades of neglect without any major rehabilitation.
He noted that ageing infrastructure, prolonged abandonment, increasing traffic volume and poor maintenance had left the road in a deplorable state, marked by extensive pavement failures, deep potholes and severely eroded sections that now pose serious dangers to motorists.
According to him, the deteriorating condition of the highway has significantly increased travel time, turning what should be a one-hour journey between Bauchi and Ningi—a distance of about 100 kilometres—into a trip lasting nearly four hours.
He added that the poor state of the road has raised transportation costs, reduced productivity and disrupted economic activities.
The lawmaker also warned that the damaged highway has exposed commuters to frequent road accidents, armed robbery and other security threats, particularly in areas where vehicles are forced to slow down or become stranded.
Ningi further expressed concern that the continued neglect of the road has disrupted interstate commerce, weakened agricultural value chains and hindered regional integration, contrary to the Federal Government’s objectives of promoting economic growth, national connectivity and safe transportation.
He stressed that without urgent intervention, the highway would continue to endanger lives and property, drive up transportation costs and worsen the economic hardship faced by Nigerians and businesses that depend on the strategic transport corridor.
