The residents of the Alagbole-Ajuwon and Akute axis in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State are pained and angry. So also are their counterparts along the Agbara-Lusada-Atan corridor in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area.
They are all aggrieved over the reckless abandonment of their roads. The immediate past administration of Senator Ibikunle Abiodun did.
He did it with impunity and a lack of empathy for the suffering of the common people. It is not unusual for a government to leave behind an uncompleted project in the face of dwindling resources.
Just like life itself, the unexpected can happen. But there is a reasonable level such projects will reach without causing more hardship than envisaged for the community concerned.
Willy-nilly, former governor Amosun awarded the contract for the construction of these roads and ordered the demolition of houses along the corridor only for the contractor to disappear into thin air midway into the project. Since then, life has remained miserable for the hapless residents as every onset of the rainy season always comes with a nightmare.
Recently, borne out of frustration, some social media freaks took on the matter with a pinch of salt, directing their rightful indignation at the incumbent Governor, Dapo Abiodun. However, he took the scathing criticism of his administration in good faith and immediately swung into action.
This week, he took time out of his busy schedule to visit the sites for an on-the-spot assessment of the projects. There and then, he promised that relief would soon come their way and the untold hardship would be a thing of the past.
It’s a horrific site to behold, indeed. Only the individuals with stone hearts can leave the scene with dry cheeks. It’s better imagined than experienced.
There is nothing impunity cannot do. And it’s the bane of governance in this country. In most cases, leaders capitalise on people’s lack of indignation and capacity to do things haphazardly and get away with them.
As Governor Abiodun is one person who does not believe in the blame game, he has promised to take on the challenge of the infrastructure deficit he inherited from his predecessors for the ultimate realisation of his transformation agenda for the good of all and sundry.
On Monday, precisely July 8, 2024, he gave a marching order to the contractor handling the construction of the Denro Isashi-Akute road to ensure the completion of the project within two weeks.
The governor also disclosed that work would soon begin on the Alagbole-Ajuwon and Akute-Ajuwon roads in the Ifo Local Government Area of the state.
He noted that the construction of the Denro-IshashiAkute Road started almost three years ago, directing the contractor to mobilise to the site immediately and ensure the completion of the project in two weeks.
He further reiterated his promise to ensure equitable provision of infrastructures across the state, adding that this is being followed religiously. He said his administration had kept faith with his promise to ensure that road construction is evenly spread across the 20 local governments in the state.
Hear him: “My pledge is that I have come here today to see things for myself. There are two roads that are considerably important to our people.
“First of all, the Denro-Ishashi-Akute road, I have given the contractor a marching order that the road must be completed in the next two weeks, asphalt and the bridge. “I want to assure you all that it is your time now.
It is your right. You voted for us. I am a promise-keeping governor. I will not make empty promises. “Now, within the next two weeks, a maximum of three weeks, active construction will start on Alagbole-Ajuwon and Akute Ajuwon roads.
“Today, here, we’ve reconstructed Olusegun Osoba-Toyin Street, Denro-IshashiAkute is under construction. We have so many other roads we’ve constructed here. But because there is so many deficits in the infrastructural development in this area, at times, it appears as if we are not reconstructing them as fast as they want us to.”
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