Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Ogun State Government, on Tuesday, hinted that the had commenced work on the establishment of road fund, to ensure that its investment in the infrastructural development does not go down the drains.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Development, Wale Ogunyomade, gave this hint while receiving the Consultant to the Federal Project Management Unit, overseers of the Rural Access And Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), Engr. Okwudili Ikejiani, in his office In Abeokuta.
According to Ogunyomade, the state government was preparing a bill to the State House of Assembly to put legal backing to the proposed fund.
He said, “We are doing a whole lot in the development of roads and other ancillary infrastructure in the state and it cuts across. The Governor in his wisdom has intimated us of the need to put up a road fund management component which will be deployed to maintaining the roads.
“In his calculation, the fund will be fashioned in the mould of the security trust fund, to be pulled from various stakeholders and managed by a private-public partnership arrangement”.
In his remark, Engr. Ikejiani, who was on a two-day visit to strengthen the preparation of the state for the take-off of the project, lamented the absence of road fund in the country.
He blamed the collapse of most roads built by government across the tiers on lack of proper and adequate maintenance, just as he commended the Ogun State government for the initiative.
The Consultant, however, commended the preparedness of the Ogun RAAMP State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU), advising that team work and adequate training would be needed for the optimal performance of the state on the project.