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From Taiwo Oluwadare, Ibadan
Residents, political leaders and an industrialist in Iseyin, Oyo State, have called on the Federal Government to urgently rehabilitate the Iseyin-Abeokuta Road, describing its current condition as a threat to economic activities and the livelihoods of communities along the route.
The stakeholders made the call on Wednesday during an inspection of a collapsed section of the federal road at Oja-Agbe, Iseyin Local Government Area.
The President of Ebedi Frontliners, Iseyin, Mr Segun Adeleke, who led the inspection, said the road, which was last reconstructed during the first term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had been neglected for too long.
Adeleke said the road served several agrarian communities from Iseyin through Ibarapa in Oyo State to Abeokuta in Ogun State, making its rehabilitation important to the movement of agricultural produce and other goods.
He said, “We have been too silent on the neglect of this road, which serves many agrarian communities from Iseyin towards Ibarapa area of Oyo State till you get to Abeokuta in Ogun State.
“Many farm produce get spoilt along the road as trailers and trucks get stuck on the way or fall by the roadside because of the collapsed sections of the road.”
He appealed to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to visit the road and assess its condition, noting that the collapsed portion at Oja-Agbe was not the only major challenge along the route.
According to him, a bridge at Ado-Awaye had also collapsed, while several other portions of the road were in need of urgent intervention.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Iseyin, Itesiwaju, Kajola and Iwajowa Federal Constituency, Hon. Saheed Alaran, who also inspected the collapsed section, assured residents that the Federal Government would give the road the necessary attention.
Alaran commended President Bola Tinubu for what he described as his administration’s efforts in road construction, including the coastal road project and the rehabilitation of existing roads across the country.
Also speaking during the inspection, the Allied People’s Movement (APM) governorship candidate, Hon. Dasola Fadiran, and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Psaltry International Company, Mrs Yemisi Iranloye, joined the call for urgent government intervention.
Fadiran and Iranloye, alongside other stakeholders, called for a “state of emergency” to be declared on the Iseyin-Abeokuta Road.
They said the deteriorating condition of the road was taking a toll on farmers, truck drivers, businesses and other road users, while contributing to the loss of manpower and agricultural produce.
The stakeholders urged the Federal Ministry of Works to urgently commence comprehensive rehabilitation of the road to restore safe and efficient transportation between the affected communities in Oyo and Ogun states.
