September 12, (THEWILL) – Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has said the 8-kilometre Mowe-Ofada road in Obafemi Owode Local Government of the State will be completed by the end of October.
The Governor disclosed this during an assessment and inspection of work done so far on the road, even as the State’s helmsman immediately approved the rehabilitation of Adesan Road in the same axis after appeals by representatives of the community.
Prince Abiodun, while noting that his administration, since it came on board in 2019, has ensured equitable distribution of infrastructure across the 20 Local Governments in the State, noted that the Mowe-Ofada Road falls in the category of abandoned roads his administration inherited from the immediate past administration in the State.
He said that the road was in a deplorable condition because, although a contract for the rehabilitation of the road was awarded by that Government, only the binder course and the drainages were done.
The present administration, the Governor said, had to renegotiate with the contractor and release funds to continue the project as governance is a continuum.
“I have come here today for an inspection and assessment of what the contractor is doing. I want to remind you about the state of this road when we assume office in 2019.
“The previous government did a binder course on some parts of the road; there are some parts that they did not do a binder course, they did the drainages and left it like that.
“By the time we came on board, the binder course had been destroyed because once you do a binder course, you must do what we call the wearing course, which will ensure the longevity of the road.
“We had to renegotiate the contract with the contractor. We gave him more money because I have always believed that governance is a continuum. If it was another person, he would have cancelled the contract because it wasn’t awarded by them.
“But, one government comes, another one goes, it is you, our people, that pay taxes for us to use to construct these projects. The money belongs to you and not any man. We, therefore, decided that the road must be finished.
“We mobilised the contractor. The entire length is about eight kilometres and we told him that all the places that were done and are no longer good should be done first. So, in those places where the binder course is still good, they have started to lay asphalt and wearing course on it,” he said.
Abiodun said that the project had been redesigned to accommodate an outfall to ensure a smooth flow of water in the drainage.
“We noticed that the drainage was not flowing anywhere because no outfall was provided. We have since redesigned it for an outfall so that the drainage will now begin to flow,” he said.
The Governor reiterated the importance of the road as an alternative to the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
“This Mowe-Ofada Road represents an alternative road to the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. This community is our border community with Lagos State, a lot of people live and work here, and others live here and work in Lagos State. They are constantly commuting between Lagos and Ogun states,” he said.
The Governor expressed appreciation to the people of the Local Government for their support, especially during the general elections, even as he called for their continued support and patience.
Abiodun stated that his administration would continue to look for ways to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal by the Federal Government.
He promised to ensure that the palliatives currently being distributed in the State will get to the masses.
He added that the conversion of buses from diesel/petrol to compressed natural gas and motorcycles and tricycles to electricity would reduce the cost of transportation in the State even below what it was before the subsidy removal.
Baale of Mowe, Alhaji Yahaya Oriyomi; Baale of Asese, who is also the Public Relations Officer of the Council of Baales in the State, Chief Kasunmu Jamiu Sonola; and the Iyaloja of Mowe, Alhaja Morufat Adebiyi, commended Prince Abiodun for ensuring the commencement of the project as well as for adding Adesan Road to the initial project.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
