After Ekiti raises alarm on poor road, FG engages new contractors for Akure—lkere—Ado road

Following the raised alarm by Ekiti citizens over the deplorable roads in the state, the Federal government engaged two new contractors to work on the reconstruction of the deplorable Akure-Ikere-Ado expressway.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this while speaking during an interview on TVC news on Sunday and monitored by Nigeria Nigeria.

Fashola apologised to the people of the two states, Ondo and Ekiti for the hardship being experienced on the road in the last few years.

The minister disclosed that each of the two contractors would work from the Ondo and Ekiti axis of the road.

Recall that the residents of Ekiti and Ondo have expressed angst over the deplorable state of Akure-Ikere-Ado road.

For the past six months, for people in Ekiti and Ondo States, travelling is not an enjoyable experience again as the Akure-Ado road is in a deplorable state, constituting grave danger, causing a series of avoidable accidents, long hours on the road for short journeys and vulnerability to kidnaps as kidnappers now take advantage of the failed portions along the road to pounce on travellers.

The condition of this road has been a source of worry to residents and travellers, who repeatedly witness tragic accidents and are forced to pay high fares because motorists claim they spend more money to maintain their vehicles due to the state of the roads.

Two weeks ago, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III visited the Minister of Works and Housing, Raji Fashola, in Abuja over the poor state of roads in Ekiti State.

The monarch begged the minister to rescue Ekiti State from the poor state of roads in the state.

Also, the administration of former Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu jointly approached the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) to seek financial support for the road but was not successful.

However, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola while speaking during an interview on TVC news on Sunday, apologised to the people of the states for the hardship being experienced on the road in the last few years.

The minister explained that the federal government has engaged two new contractors after the initial contractor failed to secure the needed fund to prosecute the road project, adding that arrangements for alternative funds have been made in addition to the funding the government is getting from the SUKUK for the road.

For effective and efficient delivery of the road in record time, Fashola disclosed that each of the two contractors would work from the Ondo and Ekiti axis of the road.

The minister who received an audience in his office in Abuja last week, the Ekiti state governor, Biodun Oyebanji over the state of the road and other federal roads in the state said, “Essentially, the two states (Ondo and Ekiti) tried to raise money from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) for the construction of the Ado-Akure road but the bank wrote that they prefer to deal with the federal government. In any event, we couldn’t conclude the transaction because they raise a lot of issues which we responded to alongside the former governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

“But, what I can say now is that the contract has been determined because we got SUKUK funding which the initial contractor could not access and we are using new contractors; we have also made alternative arrangements for additional funding.

“So, in the next few weeks, all fingers cross hopefully, we will put that under solution and work will begin, this time we planned to use two contractors so that one can attack it from the Ekiti end, and the other from the Ondo end of the road. Our team is working on that vigorously.

“I want to appeal to commuters who use the road and of course, the indigenes of Ondo and Ekiti states to bear with us, we meant well and we wanted to give them a bigger and better road and they take time but we will get there.”

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