Residents of some communities in Ekiti State have called on Minister of Works, David Umahi, to provide them an urgent succour over the terrible condition of federal roads in their area causing serious gridlock.
The call was made by Ayebode Progressive Association (APA), a development organ of Ayebode-Ekiti, one of the badly affected communities located within Ekiti North Senatorial District of Ekiti State.
A statement signed by the group’s spokesperson, Mr Femi Owoeye, said for over seven weeks, incessant trailer traffic standstill had constituted health and security risks for communities located within Ikole and Ekiti East local governments.
In particular, APA urged the minister to incorporate Ekiti State federal roads in his ongoing inspection tours and mapping of critical federal road infrastructure begging for urgent intervention.
The minister, APA stressed, would need to tour Ekiti State, “because seeing is believing.”
The group lamented that the network of federal roads, which naturally should have been a blessing to the state and its people, had been a curse, noting that successive federal ministers of works possibly missed the state on their radar.
“The result is a federal road network in perpetual dilapidation, often cutting neighboring communities away from one another,” it explained, adding, “If the minister would, for example, approach Ekiti through the Kabba-Omuo-Ikole axis, he would get stuck at Ayebode-Ekiti, which is currently cut off from Odo Ayedun-Ekiti, the next town both in Ikole LGA.
“Between the two towns, commuters from either side now come down at a forced terminus mid-way, because of the gullied federal road and make the rest of their journey on foot or simply go back.
“It is similar experiences on the other federal roads criss-crossing the state, namely: Akure-Ado; Ado-Aramoko-Ilesha, Ado-Ifaki-Otun-Omu-Aran, Ilesha-Aramoko-Ijero-Ido-Ifaki-Ikole and Ado-Ikare.
“Yet, these roads have made Ekiti State the veritable but dilapidated thoroughfare for people, goods and services to the North of Nigeria through Kogi for a large part of the Southwest and five surrounding states.”
APA appealed to Umahi and the Federal Government of Nigeria to urgently free up the gridlock, which had stretched from Omuo through Ayebode-Ekiti, Ayedun-Ekiti, Ikole-Ekiti and Ijesa Isu-Ekiti, heading towards Iluomoba-Ekiti.
“In the light of the foregoing and the implications for the welfare, safety, security and the economic wellbeing of the state and Nigeria at large, the Federal Government should please, in the 2024 budget, make a provision for rehabilitation, upgrade and reconstruction of the federal roads in Ekiti State, being a major transit route to the nation’s federal capital,” the group added.
