Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has assured residents of Sango Ota/ Ijoko/Olambe/Akute/Alagbole that one side of the existing dualised section of the 32km road lanes will be reconstructed before December.
The Governor, who visited the area recently, commended the residents for their patience, despite the harrowing experience they have daily commuting through the bad road. He assured that the 32km road will be fully constructed in phases.
Also, Abiodun said though the Ota/Sango Abeokuta road belong to the Federal Government, but the sense of urgency he attaches to the road was borne out of his desire to ensure that people who have been hitherto neglected for years in the area feel the impact of government during his administration.
According to him, one lane of the 32 kilometers road from Sango Ota through Ijoko to Alagbole will be done between now and December to ensure that motorists and other road users who ply the road daily do so without stress which has been their lot for years.
He, however, gave the contractor handling the road marching order to ensure that the December deadline for phases 1 and 6 and palliative set for the project is achievable.
Meanwhile, Mrs Anike Anifowoshe, a popular trader in the area, said: “This road used to be very bad. I have been doing my business in this area for more than 10 years now and the road keep getting bad without attention from the government. I am happy that our governor, after we cried out to him the last time he came here, has decided to do something. You can see that the road is now passable.
Also speaking, a commercial motorcycle rider, who plies the Sango-Ota-Ijoko axis, Mukaila Balogun, appreciated the governor for his efforts at putting the road in good condition.
He said: “My brother, if you had come here about a month and a half ago, you would have seen the pain we went through on a daily basis. There were big craters on the road. We had to abandon the main road and struggle with people on the walk way. My brother, it was very bad”.
Mr. Jide Ofor, a truck driver with a plastic industry in the area, said, “This road which goes all the way to Ijoko, Alagbole to Lagos State is very important to the economy of this state and Nigeria as a whole. It is not supposed to be in this terrible condition. There are many industries in this axis but the poor condition of this road has made some to locate to other places. My own company is also planning to leave but with what we are seeing, maybe the management will change their minds”.
For a commercial bus operator, Wasiu Oloyede, “this road has cost we bus and taxi drivers a lot. The money we make is spent on repairing our vehicles. My brother, it is like working for the mechanics, due to the bad condition of this road. Anywhere, we thank God that finally, we have a government that is listening to our cry and complains and we are seeing the repair work going on”.
