From: Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, on Monday, reiterated his call to the Federal Government to cede all the federal roads to the state for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance.
The governor, who made the call shortly after an extended state executive meeting at the Exco Chamber, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, equally disclosed contractors handling various road projects in the state, had been mobilised back to sites, with a view to complete the roads across the state.
According to Amosun, the call for the handing over of the roads in the state, became imperative in the face of difficulty being faced by motorists on several federal roads in the state corridor, which are in deplorable conditions.
He said some federal roads such as Sagamu-Ogijo, Lagos-Abeokuta, Papalanto-interchange, Lafenwa-Ayetoro, Papalanto-Ilaro and Abeokuta- Ibadan expressways, were of strategic economic importance, hence, the need to fix them as soon as possible.
The governor, hinted that the state government spends an average of N400 million monthly as palliative intervention on federal roads during raining season.
“We always spend N400 million every raining season to intervene on these roads, we will appreciate if the Federal government can cede the road to us; we have the capacity to do the road better than what they (FG) can do”. He said.
He, however, assured that his government would finish all the on-going projects before leaving office, stressing “all the contractors are back site”.
“We realise we have two years to leave office, Ogun Standard is what we believe, we will continue to give our people the dividends of democracy. We have re-mobilized our contractors two weeks ago, they are now back on sites.
“With the mobilisation, activities will start again on various work sites, including the much talked about Sango-Ijoko-Akute-Alagbole road. At least, five bridges will be completed on that axis, while one or two kilometres before and after the bridge will be done at strategic locations. So far, over N18billion had been sunk on that road alone. To demonstrate our capacity to deliver, contractors will also move to Ilaro-Owode road, which is a federal road, while work will also commence on Eegua-Oja-Odan-Alaari-Idiroko road.”
Meanwhile, the governor, who said ultra modern markets will be built in Ijebu-Ode, Ilaro, Ifo, Lafenwa and Sagamu, urged multinationals operating in the state, especially in Agbara axis, to complement and partner with government on road construction and rehabilitation