Kogi residents fix road in opposition stronghold destroyed by govt to ‘prevent terrorist’ (Video)

In a rare show of community spirit, residents of a community in Kogi State have taken it upon themselves to repair the damaged roads the government said it destroyed to prevent terrorists.

The campaign organisation of a Peoples Democratic Party senatorial candidate in the state, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, had on Friday alleged that the state government engaged the construction workers 24 hours to election to dig pits in four major access roads in Okehi Local Government Area in Kogi Central Senatorial district.

Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed that the move was to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission officials and other stakeholders from accessing the district.

Update

The citizens are fixing the roads destroyed by the State pic.twitter.com/pQseMQlDRs

— Kalu Aja (@FinPlanKaluAja1) February 24, 2023

Kogi Central Senatorial district is considered as a dominant area for the opposition party.

Several reports confirmed that the company carried out the same assignment in four other local government areas of Kogi Central.

Kingsley Fanwo, the state Commissioner for Information, Kogi State who confirmed the incident,

also explained that the excavation of some roads in the region was a deliberate security measure to cut off traffic on those roads with a view to restricting the use of the roads by criminals who had been breaching the peace of the area.

READ ALSO:Kogi REC denies attack on INEC office

In a statement, the commissioner drew the attention of the public to an explosion that rocked the Okehi Local Government Secretariat Complex a few days ago and the Okene blast of December 29, 2022, during the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the state.

“One of the measures arrived at was to restrict the number of routes to the flashpoints to enable security agents properly mount effective surveillance on the other access roads for the safety of the people, especially as they go to the polls on Saturday, February 25, 2023. We thank the state Ministry of Works and Urban Development for their proactive efforts on the road,” he said.

The state government urged residents of the state to disregard allegations trying to use local militias to harass voters, saying, “The protagonists of such fiction are elements who want to create panic in the state because of desperation to provoke chaos to cover up for their political feebleness.

Meanwhile in a show of resilience, a viral video shows jubilant residents fixing the roads.

One resident exclaimed, “We must vote, we must vote!”

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