Blacklist contractors, bad roads aiding kidnapping – SSANU

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities on Tuesday expressed concern over the spate of insecurity in the country with a call on the Federal Government to blacklist contractors which execute substandard road projects.

The association also attributed the increase in kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery in the country to bad roads.

The National President of SSANU, Samson Ugwoke, said this in his speech delivered at the 36th National Executive Council meeting of SSANU which was held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.

A copy of the lecture was obtained by journalists in Abuja.

He also regretted that the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, was keeping the non-teaching staff unions in the universities waiting one week after the meeting called at his instance was aborted by the protesting members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria popularly called Shi’ites.

According to him, some Nigerian roads have become death traps.

Ugwoke said, “We have traversed the country and have seen the nature of the roads, we have also seen why it is easy to kidnap people on the highway, it is because of bad roads.

“If you check where we have the military and police checkpoints and recently the Federal Road Safety Corps’ checkpoints, they are all at the bad portions of the roads. So you must slow down when you slow down, you are under arrest.

“So, we are appealing to the Federal Government that one of the ways they could address kidnapping, armed robbery and banditry is by fixing our highways. The government should fix the Nigerian highways, the money is there, even if it is by concession, they should do it.

“The government should also not give weak companies that are not able to do good jobs road project. Many of the roads are less than five years they were constructed but they have broken down.

“We should blacklist companies that do substandard jobs in Nigeria. We have good companies with good records. Let us use such companies to do good roads that can last in Nigeria. We have lost so many lives on the highway due to accidents. These deaths are avoidable because if the roads are fixed accidents will reduce.”