Concerns mount over disbursement of El-Rufai’s $350m World Bank loan in Kaduna
“Children now play on half-graded roads, and people have started throwing waste into open drains that were meant to relieve stormwater,” observed another resident in Zitti Village in the Zango Kataf Local Government Area.
For many, the unfinished roadworks have become a symbol of neglect. “El-Rufai gave us hope that Kaduna would be transformed,” said Fatima Bello, a school teacher, “But what we were left with were potholes, traffic jams, and dust storms,” she pointed out.
“This present administration of Uba Sani must probe the previous administration of Nasir el-Rufai to tell Kaduna State citizens the truth about what happened to the $350 million World Bank loan that it secured,” Garba Habibu from Birning Gwari declared.
A top government source in one of the ministries directly involved in projects, but who does not want his name in print for fear of a possible attack or sanction alleged that while the Kaduna North reportedly benefitted from nearly 76 per cent of the projects, residents in the South and Central senatorial zones were left with incomplete and deteriorating roadways.
Similarly, a youth leader in Kaura, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, also queried what he termed as the injustice in the uneven disbursement of the loan.
“This is not just about bad governance. It is about injustice. How can we be paying back a loan and have nothing to show for it?”
He pointed out that among the most glaring cases is the Yarbwan-Kafanchan road, among others, which were initially designed as a signature project to boost connectivity into Southern Kaduna and which construction began with much fanfare but has since been stalled, “leaving commuters stranded during rainy seasons and sight of local businesses bearing the brunt of a failed promise.”
In Birnin Gwari, an area plagued by banditry and poor infrastructure, residents informed Arewa PUNCH that the road projects would have significantly eased movement and enhanced security if completed.
Another senior source within the Kaduna Government House, who equally spoke under the condition of anonymity, confirmed that “no single project initiated by the El-Rufai administration reached completion stage” in the listed LGAs.
“Some areas didn’t even have the contractors mobilised. All the attention were on projects that had media visibility within the Kaduna metropolis,” the official disclosed.
Meanwhile, community leaders from the neglected LGAs are calling for immediate government intervention, warning that continued neglect may fuel further social discontent.
- Efforts by our correspondent to get a response from the current administration of Governor Uba Sani were unsuccessful as calls and messages to key officials in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure were not returned as at press time.
