DEMOLITION OF ROUNDABOUTS NOT FOR SPIRITUAL CLEANSING - Bello

The Kogi State Governor, Alh. Yahaya Adoza Bello, has said that the ongoing demolition of roundabouts in the state capital, Lokoja has noting to do with any fetish beliefs.

The people of Lokoja woke up yesterday morning to find out that all the roundabouts in Lokoja has been demolished by the state government.

This was coming few days after the governor ordered the removal of all political bill boards in Lokoja metropolitan city.

The demolishing may not be unconnected with the rumour making the round that charms and other fetish materials may have been planted in all the roundabouts in Lokoja metropolis.

But in a swift reaction, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Edward David Onoja said the governor took the decision to demolish the roundabouts to give the state capital a facelift by building more befitting structures.

Onoja who refuted the claim in some quarters  that the demolishing of the roundabouts was based on juju scars, noting that the government was not part of the previous regime, as such could not have known where charms are planted.

"The government has decided to remove the roundabouts so as to build befitting ones that will match the status of Lokoja. The new ones will have fountains and flowers and has nothing to do with any fetish belief".

Authority however, reliably gathered that the first roundabout that was demolished was the Lugard roundabout at the front of Government House without any reason.

Others affected are the ones along Obasanjo Square -  Paparanda, NTA junction, Federal Medical Center, and welcome to Lokoja junction on Okene road.

It was also alleged that government took the option of spiritual cleansing as it was rumoured that previous administrations perform rituals in those areas.

However, in telephone conversation with Chief Press Secretary to Bello, Fanwo Kingsley, he said that because of the nodal status of Lokoja as the gateway to the North, East and West, it is supposed to be an attractive State Capital in order to meet the expectations of potential tourists.

"The administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello is poised to give the city a facelift by removing the substandard roundabouts within the city with the intention of replacing them with beautiful ones, befitting of its status.

"This administration will not live with substandard structures that represent our identity as a state" he said.