The Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Dr. Abubakar Y. Suleiman has called on the Federal Government to include the repair of the Bauchi–Kano Federal Highway in the 2026 national budget.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Mukhtar Garba Kobi, the Speaker said the appeal became necessary due to the unbearable hardship faced by commuters using the Bauchi–Kano Federal Highway.

According to the statement, the Speaker made the appeal through a letter to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, saying the 138-kilometre Bauchi–Ningi–Jigawa–Kano road is one of the major routes linking several states in the Northeast and North-Central to Kano, the region’s commercial hub.

“The highway carries huge volumes of traffic daily but has deteriorated to an unimaginable level, causing frequent accidents and loss of lives and property.

“The condition of this road is tragic. People now spend several hours on a journey that should take less than one hour, especially between Bauchi and Babaldu. It is affecting trade, movement, and even emergency services,” he said.

The Speaker explained that a section of the road – about 10 kilometres from Bauchi Airport Junction to Futuru village was repaired in 2023, but work was suspended in early 2024 due to lack of funds. 

Since then, he said, the project has been abandoned because it was not captured in the 2024 and 2025 budgets.

He revealed that he also wrote to the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to remind them of their earlier discussions about the road’s condition, urging the agency to act swiftly.

“I am appealing to the National Assembly and the House Committee on Appropriation to allocate enough funds to FERMA to ensure that this vital road is repaired in 2026,” he added.

Dr. Suleiman said the move was part of his commitment to ease the suffering of his constituents in Ningi Central and neighbouring communities who rely heavily on the road for trade and daily movement.

Assembly Speaker laments deteriorating state of Bauchi–Kano road, writes NASS