The frustrations being experienced by travellers who spend hours on the Federal roads in Ekiti area of the federation have come to the fore.
Newsflash Nigeria reports that on Friday, travellers were stranded along the Ado-Ikere-Akure road on account of the bad stretch of the roads.
Ado-Ilawe-Igbara-Oke and Igede-Aramoko-Efon roads didn’t fare better, as commuters were also stranded on the roads due to the number of trucks plying it, in addition to the poor state of roads, which worsened commuters’ experience.
Newsflash Nigeria gathered that travelling within or through Ekiti State on the Federal Government roads has continued to become a difficult task for the motorists and travellers following the level of the deplorable condition of many of the roads.
As a matter of fact, travelling on the affected roads, which ordinarily should not be more than one hour within the state is, now taking at least two or three hours for the travellers to reach their various destinations. This has been a great challenge for the stakeholders, especially the road users. As it is now, there seems to be no clear difference between the rural area roads and some major roads in the Ekiti State, particularly during the rainy season.
Unfortunately, the bad condition of the roads has been aiding criminal activities as the bandits now utilise the expressways as a trap to kidnap the helpless travellers.
On Saturday, David Adinlewa, a lecturer at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State has been abducted by gunmen along Akure-Ikere Ekiti road.
Adinlewa was said to be travelling to Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State to see his relatives when he was reportedly kidnapped along with the bad spot on the Akure-Ikere Ekiti road.
Speaking on the issue, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Femi Bamisile, said that the N460bn budgeted for construction and maintenance of federal roads in the 2021 budget and the N30bn allocated to FERMA has not been having positive effects on Nigerian roads.
The National Assembly member spoke at Aramoko Ekiti, Ekiti West Local Government Area of Ekiti State while addressing some angry travellers on Saturday.
Ondo federal roads turn death traps, travellers pay deadly prices daily, security agents feed fat on motorists.
Our correspondent reports that all roads, both state and federal, in Ekiti State which had become the routes for North and South-bound trucks in recent times, leave commuters spending three to four hours on the dilapidated 30-kilometre distance, in addition to becoming death traps and kidnapping zones.
Bamisile said, “I have moved round Ekiti and what I saw are disturbing. This situation is unfortunate and we have to find solutions to it.
“We learnt that a bridge got cut off at Jebba and these heavy trucks from the North and South now find Ekiti as the most convenient place to ply and that has further caused serious damage to both federal and state roads.”
Continuing, he said, “The Federal Ministry of Works got N460bn in the 2021 budget and N30bn was allotted to FERMA. This is too small for a body saddled with the maintenance and rehabilitation of roads across Nigeria.
“Nigerians cannot be treated this way. There should be serious reform in the way our federal roads are being maintained. Let all the monies being allocated be structured accordingly so that Nigerians can be rescued from this mess.”
