Omoniyi Salaudeen
Worried by the deplorable state of the Ibadan-Iwo-Oshogbo road, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdul Rasheed Akanbi, has appealed to the Federal Government for an immediate intervention to save further loss of lives.
The concerned monarch, who made the plea in his palace, noted that the potholes on the ever busy road had turned it into a deathtrap and called for an urgent action to prevent avoidable loss of innocent lives. “The poor state of the road has claimed many innocent lives. Just yesterday, I rescued some accident victims whose lives I pray God should spare,” he lamented.
This is as he stressed the strategic importance of the road to the economic activities between the people of Osun and Oyo states, urging the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, to put it on the priority list of his ministry for rehabilitation.
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Oba Akanbi disclosed that he had since 2016 taken it upon himself to carry out regular palliative measures at Ejioku axis out of his concern for the road users. His words: “As a first class paramount ruler, the bitter experience of the populace challenged me to mobilise resources to ensure that the two states are not cut off, as some portions of the road are no longer motorable. I am confident that the government would respond accordingly in due course.”
He, however, commended the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for its sustained effort to address the infrastructural deficit in the country, pleading to Fashola to add the road to the priority list of his ministry.