Fed up with neglected federal roads, Ekiti commuters seek urgent intervention

ABIODUN NEJO writes that although Ekiti communities and road users are excited about the approval and award of contracts for rehabilitation of some federal roads, they are praying for expeditious action to ensure they are not abandoned

Frontline traditional ruler and the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, aptly captured the parlous state of the federal roads in Ekiti State when he said they looked like roads leading to village.

Oba Adejugbe, who spoke at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti in August, bemoaned the plight and suffering of Ekiti people and other road users, saying he would use the opportunity of the 2024 Udiroko Festival which held that month to draw Federal lawmakers’ attention to the roads.

He was referring to the Omuo – Ikole – Ifaki – Ado – Ekiti Road, the Ado – Ijan – Iluomoba – Ikere Road, the Efon – Aramoko – Igede – Ado – Road and the Ado – Ikere – Akure road, which he said were in “terrible state.”
The monarch had said, “All of them (federal roads) are in pitiable conditions. If you are coming from Ilesa, Osun State, the road through Efon Alaaye is as if you are going to a village, if you are coming to Ekiti through Akure, Ondo State, it is as if you are going to a village. There is no befitting road leading to Ekiti State, no befitting road leading to Ado Ekiti, and it is giving me concern.”

The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola, expressed similar frustration earlier on the deplorable state of the Ado – ABUAD – Ijan – Iluomoba – Ikare road, which links the three senatorial districts of the state and takes traffic to and from Ondo State and Abuja/northern part of the country.

Babalola, who said he had written several letters to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, called on the Federal Government to rehabilitate the road for commuters’ comfort, saying, “It has been in deplorable state for several years, thus subjecting users and residents to hardship and damaging vehicles.”
The elder statesman has for years committed humongous resources to undertake palliative works on the road, including around the Ureje Bridge, to prevent it from flooding during the raining season and to make the road passable to relieve the pains and stress of commuters.

Also, frustrated staff and students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti along the Ado – Ijan – Ikare road had embarked on protests on many occasions, following accidents occasioned by the bad road condition.

During the last of such protests in March, leaders of the institution’s chapter of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Non-Academic Staff Union and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, said it was to draw the Federal Government’s attention to the road users’ plight.

A student leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, had said, “This is the only road that leads to our campus. Many of us stay off-campus; it is difficult to access school or go back home after lectures daily. The state of the road is posing danger to our lives. It is causing accidents and loss of lives”.

However, the senator representing Ekiti Central and Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, came with good news following the protest, when he announced in a statement that the Federal Government had approved commencement of the construction of the road, which is about 31 kilometres.

Bamidele said President Bola Tinubu had approved construction of the Ado Ekiti – Ijan – Ikare road leading to the Federal Polytechnic, ABUAD, ABUAD Multi-System Hospital and linking Ekiti State to Abuja, through Ondo, Edo and Kogi states.

While the Minister of Works, David Umahi, promised that Federal Government road projects in Ekiti would be executed expeditiously, the state Commissioner for Works, Sola Adebayo, disclosed on Sunday that work had begun on the Ado Ekiti – Ijan – Ikare Road from the Ikare, Ondo State end.
The Onijan of Ijan Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Aladesuyi, who expressed joy on the award of the contract and the news of commencement of work from the Ikare end, recalled experiences of road users on the road in its poor state.

Oba Aladesuyi said, “The experience has not been very good. The road has been in bad condition for years. Earlier in the year. It will be manageable, but right now because of the rains, it is terrible.

“The last time I was in Ado, the portion between ABUAD and Ado Grammar School, St Paul’s Church in Ado, the portion has been palliated with sand, I learned, by Aare Afe Babalola. It’s a little better there.

“But there are very terrible portions between my place here and that place. I heard the contractors have been doing some work around Agbado to Aisegba, building culverts, drainages there along the Ado – Ijan – Ikare Road.

The Onijan, who said the present parlous condition of the road definitely had adverse effect on business, said, “But the joy there is that gracefully, the Federal Government has agreed to do the road.

“So, we are hoping that eventually when it is done, it will boost our economy, it will boost movement within Ekiti and beyond because it is a major road from Southwest to Abuja.

“Our appeal is, please let them expedite action, we are all eagerly waiting for the road to be constructed. We are happy it has been awarded. We believe that this will help the economy of our people. Of course we are ready to cooperate with them when they start the work”, the Onijan said.
Also, the announcement last week by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that the Federal Executive Council had approved contract for the rehabilitation of Iyamoye (Kogi State) – Omuo – Ikole – Ifaki – Ado Ekiti Road was received in Ekiti State with excitement.

For Ekiti and other road users, the federal road stretch, which takes traffic from Ekiti State to Kogi, Abuja and the northern parts, has turned to nightmare with its pitiable state as commuters spend hours and even days on the roads.

Following the FEC approval, the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, was quick to hail the Tinubu government for the gesture, which he said would bring comfort to residents and road users.

Oyebanji, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, said, “Approval for contract for the road and as well award of Ado – ABUAD – Ijan – Ilumoba Road by the Federal Government, which came as works on the Ado – Ikere – Akure Road reached advanced stage is a vindication of the struggle of the government and people of the state in the last two years.

“It is also a demonstration of President Bola Tinubu’s strong support for our administration as well as a vindication of the governor’s frequent visits to the seat of power in Abuja,” the government stated.

However, in a bid to alleviate the people’s suffering on the road, Oyebanji has already begun reconstruction of the Ifaki – Ado Ekiti end of the federal road, saying, “That road is going to cost us N15b. We are able to embark on a project of this magnitude because of the strong support from the Federal Government of Tinubu”.
The Alaaye of Oke Ayedun Ekiti, Oba Olufemi Aribisala, said that his community and others along the Omuo – Ikole – Ifaki – Ado Ekiti road stretch and indeed road users received the news from the Federal Government with joy and happiness.
The monarch said that the situation in view of the bad road condition is compounded by the fact that many roads linking Southwest to the North are in deplorable state, “so we now have many trucks passing through our communities, and these trucks get stuck on the road and stop people from moving.”

Aribisala said, “The experience has been bad in the last few years especially during the rainy season when we cannot go from one community to the other. Sometimes you are not able to get to a community that is just three kilometres away because the road is totally cut off.

“Last two years, we had days when trucks lined up from Odo Ayedun to Ikole and Odo Oro, a distance of over 10 kilometres, the trucks were parked for over one week before they could go. Even right now between here and Omuo, which is just over 20km, it takes almost one hour now to get there if you are lucky. So, it is very bad indeed.

“Because the road is very bad and people cannot move their farm produce to the markets, there are wastages of produce. These are some of the things we experience in addition to some security concerns such as pilfering, stealing and kidnapping associated with the bad spots on the road.

He said, “Rehabilitating the road will solve such problems. When we heard the news that FEC had approved award of contracts for the road, we were all happy. It is something that we have been waiting for, something we have been asking our representatives at the National Assembly to work on.

“Now the next thing is that we are praying that the contract will be awarded and executed as speedily as possible and that the contractor will take the job seriously.

“We have seen a lot of repair works on our roads in few years past and within six months, the roads went bad again. We hope this will be proper rehabilitation. Since heavy trucks ply the road, so, it should be done solidly to be able to last for years.
“We thank the Federal Government for coming to our aid and hearkening to the cries of the people with the approval. Once this road is done, then, we hope the state government will be free to work on other roads like the Ikole – Ijesa Isu – Iluomoba Road that is almost impassable now,” Oba Aribisala said.

A community leader at Odo Ayedun Ekiti, Chief Adebayo Jegede, who corroborated the monarch, said news of the approval had already brought joy and psychological relief for the people.

Jegede said, “I use the road almost daily moving from Ayedun to Ilasa, so I know the pains. Although it gives road users pains and anguish all year round, what obtains during the rainy season is unbearable. Large number of trucks get stuck on the road for days and weeks making movement impossible.

“Our prayer is for timely commencement of the work and for quality job by the contractor. The contractor should put into consideration that trucks ply the road and as such give us very good road that can withstand the stress. We thank the Federal Government for the approval”, he said.

A media practitioner from Omuo Ekiti, Julius Adegbuyi, said that seeing the road construction start and completed would be one of the greatest gifts that the Tinubu government would have given the communities and road users.

Adegbuyi said, “For quite a long time, the users of the stretch of road have been complaining to the government about the way they suffer on the road, a journey of one hour will take five hours to complete and because of that, criminals are always using the opportunity to either kidnap or rob people on the road. Again, because of the fear of criminals, you can’t travel late.

“It will interest you that a National Assembly member from Ekiti State shared his experience with journalists sometimes ago that he was held up on the Kogi/Omuo axis of the road for eight hours.
“He could not even use his position to pass, he had to accept the situation. He was at the end of Kogi that would just take him about 30 minutes to get to Omuo Ekiti, but he ended up spending eight hours. That paints the picture of how people suffer on the road.

“I pity the commercial vehicle operators as they have to visit auto mechanics frequently. They have to spend more money fixing vehicles as commuters also pay higher fares because not many people want to put their vehicles on the road.

“Farmers along the route cannot get their produce to the markets leading to wastages and loss of resources. That is how terrible the situation is, but we thank God for the pronouncement.

“It is a welcome development if truly they are going to embark on rehabilitating the road. In fact, since the pronouncement, people are excited and happy. I hope they will not be disappointed because we have had several of these announcements and nothing happened. I hope the joy, the excitement will not be truncated,” Adegbuyi said.

Also speaking, a youth leader at Ikole Ekiti, Toba Fatunla, who said the news that Omuo – Ikole – Ifaki – Ado Ekiti Road would be fixed came as a relief, said, “It is a welcome development. The road connects Ekiti to the Northern part of the country especially Abuja. It is a major road that has been in a very bad state for a very long time.

“The news came as a great relief to the people of the state and people that use the road. Evil doers hide in the bush at the bad spots to perpetrate all kinds of atrocities because there is no way you can pass and not spend hours. In fact, your vehicle can get stuck on the road.

“If we can have the road fixed, it will help the economy of Ikole Local Government and Ekiti State; that is like a gateway to Ekiti from Kogi axis. People will be able to sell their goods, they will be able to transport their food and it will lead to the reduction in cost of goods and services.
“My advice to the Federal Government is that they should expedite action on fixing the road. They should not abandon it like others started and not completed.

“I will also advise the contractor on the local content aspect by sourcing for their materials and manpower here, such will help the economy of the area. Our people, our youths, who can do the jobs are ready. Of course, we want quality and standard road that can stand the test of time.”

Fatunla, however, advised that work should be stepped up on the Ado – Ikere – Akure Road which was awarded twice or thrice, as he appealed to the Federal Government to also consider fixing the Efon – Aramoko – Ado Ekiti Road taking traffic to and from Lagos and other Southwest states.

He said, “Ekiti State is very important with its location. It is like a way to Lagos State. I don’t think you can pass through any other place without going through Ekiti State, the Efon – Aramoko – Ado Ekiti Road is major and need the consideration of the Federal Government.”