By Job Osazuwa
Residents of Ayetoro, Binukonu, Lafenwa, Egbejoda and Itele-Awori communities in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun State marched on Monday through the streets in their area calling on State Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Federal Government to fix their dilapidated roads.
While displaying different placards and singing solidarity songs, residents complained that they have endured years of neglect by successive governments.
The Vice Chairman of Ado-Odo Ota Zonal Community Development Committee (CDC), Prince Olatunji Olaonapo, said that the affected communities spend at least N4 million in 2019 and N8 million in 2020 to provide palliatives on the roads.
He stated that the roads have been neglected by Ogun State Government over the last 10 years. The deplorable roads linking Ayobo in Lagos State and Ota in Ogun spread across Itele, Ayetoro, Binukonu and Egbejoda, spanning over 40 kilometres.
He said that about 90 per cent of the residents of the area are clamouring and calling on National Boundary Adjustment Commission to cede the communities to Lagos if the Ogun State Government was not ready to provide them with good roads and other basic amenities.
He disclosed that the majority of people living in the communities are working in Lagos.
He said that Lagos was magnanimous enough during the administration of Akinwunmi Ambode to come to the rescue of the communities by constructing a link bridge between Lagos and Ogun States. It was learnt that before the intervention, residents of the area were always trapped and cut off from Lagos for days by flood whenever there was heavy rain.
Olaonapo lamented that every rainy season compounds their woes as most of the roads become impassable.
‘Most of the roads have dividend into various points, as there are no well-constructed gutters to contain the heavy flood. Most of our residents have abandoned their homes for Lagos, as erosion from the heavy floods have had their houses submerged.
‘In the past, we have written several letters to the authorities to come to our aid. Up till this moment, no presence of any of the governments has been felt concerning our roads.
‘The Federal Government can also come to our rescue through its Ecological Funds because there is a Federal road connecting Lafenwa and Ota.
‘We pay our Value Added Tax (VAT) and levies regularly, yet we get nothing in return. Many people have sustained injuries on commercial motorcycles that ply the bad routes.
‘Many landlords have put up their houses for sale due to the sufferings that we are passing through. It sad that despite what the government is generating from our area, we are left to continue to suffer this level of hardship,’ he said.