By Yunusa Isa, Gombe

Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has called for the rehabilitation of some Federal Government roads linking northeastern states to reduce road crashes especially in these ember months.

The governor made the call when he flagged off the 2024 Ember Months Campaign and town hall meeting organized for stakeholders by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Gombe State Command at the Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo Mega Park.

Represented by the Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transportation Engineer Usman Maijama’a Kallamu, the governor said the roads are key to millions of Nigerians in the six states of the region, and serve as linking bridge to other parts of the country.

He said the roads particularly Gombe-Bauchi, Gombe-Dukku, Gombe-Biu, Gombe-Potiskum and some parts of Gombe-Yola Road are becoming more death traps for commuters especially in the last four months of the year, appealing to the federal government through the ministry of works to do everything possible to curb the menace.

While commending FRSC for its commitments to minimizing road crashes, the governor said his administration has attained more than 70% in its Network Eleven Hundred initiative, where each local government is being provided with at least 100 kilometers of roads to improve access to rural communities.

Speaking on the 2024 ember months campaign theme; “Speak Up Against Dangerous Driving: Crashes Kill More Passengers Than Drivers”, the governor charged passengers to be extra vigilant while on transit.

In his welcome address, State FRSC Corps Commander Samson Ƙaura, said the corps has initiated new strategies to ensure crashes are minimized to bearest minimum.

He called on drivers to take responsibility of upholding passengers’ trust, by ensuring their vehicles are in good shape, avoid drinking before or during driving and adhere to traffic rules and regulations.

Ƙaura encouraged passengers to report any erring driver to nearest FRSC outfit or any relevant security agency.

In his address, the General Manager Gombe State Transport Services popularly called Gombe Line, Dr Sani Sabo, re-echoed the call on the Federal Government to urgently fix the Northeast inter state roads to save drivers and passengers lives.

He commended the state government, the FRSC and other stakeholders for their commitments to reducing accidents on the state and national roads.

In their goodwill messages, representatives of various security agencies, leaders of transport organizations, and traditional institution, appreciated Federal Road Safety Corps for its commitments to reduced crashes, calling on drivers and passengers to strictly adhere to traffic regulations.