Gaya community in Niger Republic has appealed to Kebbi Government to allow them to utilise the access road in Bagudu Local Government pending the repair of its bridge that was washed away by the flood.
The governor of Gaya city, Samaila Usman, made the appeal when he paid a courtesy visit to Kebbi Deputy Governor, Alhaji Samaila Yombe in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday.
He said: “I have come to pay you a courtesy visit and appeal to your government to permit our people to use the alternative route which cut across Bagudu, Suru and Dandi Local Government Areas.
“This will be just for the time it takes to reconstruct the collapsed Gayan Bridge.
“The bridge, which served as a route to our people coming to Nigeria for economic gains and exchange of relationship and brotherliness, collapsed as a result of the flood along River Niger.”
Usman said that in spite of being in separate countries, the people of Gaya and Nigerians have remained like family.
He said that the kinship had been sustained by mutual faith and belief in one another, in view of similarities in culture, beliefs and values.
“We are still family and we always are,’’ the Gaya governor said.
Usman commended the Kebbi Government for ensuring peace and unity amongst the people in the towns bordering Niger Republic and Nigeria.
In his remarks, the deputy governor expressed appreciation for the visit and assured that the request would receive appropriate attention.
“We consider people from Niger Republic, especially in Gaya and Dosso cities part of our extended family.
“We will not leave you alone as we will do all it takes to assist as much as we can,’’ Yombe assured.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gaya is a city in the Dosso Region of Niger located 254 km south-east of the capital, Niamey.
It is located on the banks of the Niger River, near the Benin and Nigeria borders.
