NEPTUNE FEATURE: Madalla Market: A growing menace to commuters
Story from Haruna A. YUSUF, Abuja
Commuters plying from Suleja to Berger in Abuja, the Nation’s capital have lamented over the persistent traffic hurdles they are experiencing due to the operations of the Madalla market on the highway.
Segun Olowu is a bus driver that plies the road from Suleja to Berger in Abuja every day but according to him, “each Thursday of the week, which is the day fixed for the market, is usually very bad for me and other road users.”
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Additionally, Olowu said he normally runs Suleja to Berger in Abuja, four(4) times most days but on the day of the market, he can only make two trips, which has a negative effect on his income.
Another resident of Suleja, a civil servant who works in Abuja, commutes the road every day to work but Thursdays usually leaves her with a very bitter experience.
She said, “My last experience was a very hectic one as I spent two hours from Suleja to Madalla by Mobil filling station. When our bus finally joined the expressway, we spent another 45 minutes before we could be free from the traffic that was moving almost at a snail’s pace. So, as you can see, I spent my productive hours on the way to the office. By the time I got to the office, I was cranky.”
She, therefore, called on the relevant authorities to move the market from this point to a better place. She also explained the hazards of having a market by the highway.
An Assistant Corps Commander (ACC), Micheal Idowu Alayi, Unit Commander, RS7. 22 of Suleja Unit Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, lent his voice during an interview with Neptune Prime.
He said it was completely wrong to have a market so close to the highway and that the market should be moved from the present location to a safe place where it would not obstruct vehicular movement.
Also, the Superintendent Route Commander (SRC), U.K Izuegbu, Ag Unit Head of Operations R57. 22, Suleja Unit Command, corroborated what the Unit commander said.
“Every Thursday is usually a challenging one, however, we are up to the task. You would observe that every Thursday you will see our officers there controlling the traffic”.
Izuegbu added that there was a time the FRSC officers had a meeting with the Chairman of Suleja Local Government Council, who said they were building a new market and very soon, the market would be relocated. “We have not seen anything up till now,” she said.
In addition, she said during the meeting with the Chairman, the FRSC suggested to local authorities to build a barricade in the interim before the execution of a permanent solution. However, the idea was welcomed without implementation.
Umar Ibrahim Dodo is the Managing Partner with Dodo Project Consultant Limited. According to him, they are the company handling the relocation of the Madalla market.
Dodo said, “We entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with the Niger State government to build the new market where the old market would be relocated to.”
He further said, in the building plan, there are four phases but the first phase has gotten to the roofing stage.
“We also have challenges with lack of access road to the site. However, we have made an arrangement with the Federal Ministry of Works and Julius Berger to help construct the road from the service lane to the site. Once this is done, we are relocating the market immediately.
“We equally have issues with the supply of bricks, although we have made requisition for bricks from another company and once this is done, the project will be executed”. He explained.
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