The Federal Government, the World Bank, and the French Development Agency (AFD) have inked a tripartite deal to allocate $575 million to construct rural roads in 13 Nigerian states.
Between March 2021 and March 2026, the project will witness the construction of rural roads with a total distance of 53,730 kilometres.
The National Coordinator, Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, Aminu Muhammed, after a two-week ‘3rd Implementation Support Review Mission’ meeting in Abuja on Friday, said 12 of the 13 states had received the take-off disbursement.
At the event were Task Team Lead for World Bank’s Transport Sector, Olatunji Ahmed; AFD’s TTL, Mr Francois Giroudy; Project Manager, AFD, Antonio Le Bihan; and representative of the Project Coordinating Unit, Kush Peter.
Muhammed said, “The initial target of this special rural road intervention is to construct a total number of 5,921, summing up to 53,730km, to return prosperity to the farmers across strata and gender, with youth and women being the primary target. Ultimately, an elite club of farmers would emerge and a new crop of successful market men and women would take over the business world.”
Muhammed also disclosed that the International Labour Organisation had expressed its readiness to offer financial and technical assistance to the rural roads project, adding that the World Bank would fast-track “no objection” to the ILO intervention.
Ahmed advised states to follow the disbursement “draw down protocol” to avoid possible reaction in an interview on the sidelines of the World Bank’s TTL.
States should expedite establishing a State Road Fund and a Rural Access Road Agency, Ahmed said, stressing that their existence will give the project institutional and financial support, especially when it is completed.
In his presentation, Muritala Adekunle, Project Coordinator, RAAMP, Ogun State, said the project’s milestones were made possible by Governor Dapo Abiodun’s support for the least important stakeholder in the value chain.
“All safeguard instruments, both social and environmental, have been put in place for the success of the pilot construction,” Adekunle said of the 13.1-kilometre Mosa junction-Alapako Oni demonstration rural road, which will be awarded at the start of the dry season this year.
He also stated that nine of the twelve markets recommended to the Federal Project Management Unit would receive an intervention. Adekunle urged the Bank to move quickly on proposals that require a “no objection” decision.
