Osun state governor, Gboyega Oyetola, on Monday sought the help of the Federal Government on the completion and repairs of some major federal roads in the state.
The governor, who made the appeal during a visit to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, in his office in Abuja, listed the roads to include; Osogbo- Ilobu road, Iwo-Osogbo road and Osogbo- Ilesa road.
According to the chief press secretary to governor, Mr Adesina Adeniyi, some of the roads are in deplorable state, appealing to the minister for speedy intervention and completion in order to reduce the sufferings of the people of the state.
He stated that some of the federal roads in the state had been abandoned for close to ten years, while work on others had either stopped or was slow.
The governor said: “We have seen what you are doing in our state but we still need some more. Honourable minister, I still need you a lot in the areas of infrastructure. During the campaign, I realised that the major thing the people want to see happening is the rehabilitation of their roads. That the primary reason, almost entirely, that government exists to construct roads.
“We will appreciate rehabilitation of a lot of other roads. There are a lot of potholes here and there that is making it difficult for a lot of people to come around. This is the dry season; we will appreciate if you can be able to assist us in fixing quite a number of roads.
“We have some critical roads that need your attention. The Iwo-Osogbo road has been a major issue. Again the Osogbo- Ilobu road, I know it has been under construction but it is taking pretty long a time and it is affecting our people around that area. Ditto the Osogbo- Ilesa road. We met it like that when we came in; it is still as it is almost 10 years after.
“No matter how much you do in other sectors, if you don’t fix their roads they will believe that you are not doing well. I will need you to please support us, particularly in the areas of federal roads that have been abandoned over the years.”
Fashola, in his response, pledged to assist the governor with the repair and rehabilitation of some federal roads in the state.
He stated that the federal government was constructing 365 roads nationwide with less resource.
The minister said: “You are right on the roads. The major issues have been funding. The budget we met for Nigerian roads was under N20 billion and that was at a time Nigeria was earning over a hundred dollars per barrel.
“We have lost opportunities as a nation and it is important to say it very, very clearly and those who lost those opportunities want to come back.
“We are constructing 365 roads nationwide. 121 of them were started within three years of this administration. 244 was what they labored with between 2001 and 2015. They say we are slow, our run rate is faster than theirs and our delivery rate is faster and we are doing more with less.
“Mr. President has mandated us that development is a commitment to all Nigerians irrespective of the state, irrespective of the political flag that is flying in the state and that is why we can confidently say here that there is no state in this country where we are not constructing at least one road. That didn’t happen before. Those who were in opposition never got anything.”
