The Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, on Tuesday ordered the closure of the deplorable Minna- Bida Road and other state-owned roads to fast-track their rehabilitation.

The governor placed a ban on trucks and other articulated vehicles with effect from Tuesday.

Bello, who supervised the closure of the road at the Bida end, said it was to allow the construction company handling the rehabilitation work speed up the job.

The governor, accompanied by members of the state Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Committee, headed by the Chief of Staff at the Government House, Ibrahim Balarabe, and the state executive members, personally pull down the iron barricades to signal the official closure of the road at Bida, and appealed to the public members for cooperation.

The other state-owned roads closed for rehabilitation include the Lapai-Paiko, Chanchaga Bridge-Maikunkele, Muye-Lapai, and Zungeru-Wushishi roads.

Bello warned that any articulated vehicle caught violating the restriction order “will have themselves to blame as the government has made widespread publicity and consultations on this closure.