Federal roads are death traps in Ekiti, APC chieftain tells FG

The Director General of the Buhari/Osinbajo campaign council in Ekiti state in the 2019 presidential election, Dr Olusegun Osinkolu, has appealed to the federal government to give attention to the deplorable states of federal roads in the state.

He said the present state of the roads are endangering the lives of the commuters and dissuading investors from visiting the state for businesses.

In a statement made available to Tribune Online in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, the All Progressives Congress chieftain noted that all the federal roads in the state need rehabilitation, urging the Minister of Works, Mr Babatunde Fashola to prioritise Ekiti in the rehabilitation agenda of the government.

“Ekiti state has one of the worst federal roads in the state. Virtually all the existing federal roads need attention either through outright reconstruction or rehabilitation to ease transportation.

“The Ado-Akure road, Ado-Aramoko-Efon, Ado-Ijan-Ikare, Ado-Ifaki-Otun and the worst and the most dangerous among them is Ifaki-Oye-Ikole-Omuo road.

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“This has not been affecting transportation system alone, it has been having a toll on our agriculture zones in terms of bringing out our products to the market and as well discouraging investors to see Ekiti as the right destination for business,” he said.

Osinkolu said most disturbing was the rate at which bridges constructed on these federal roads are collapsing, thereby cutting off some communities and obstructing accessibilities to those towns.

According to him: “During the flooding of September 2019, the Ureje bridge along Ado-Ijan road was overflown and collapsed. It took the intervention of the state government before palliative works were done on the bridge.

“The sordid scenario happened twice and motorists could not cross for two days. Motorists were forced to take alternative Ado-Afao-Iluomoba road,  which was thrice of the distance as an alternative route to allow for that palliative works.

“Just a few days ago, another bridge between Erio-Efon also collapsed leaving a narrow portion for vehicles to cross, which experts warned that the portion poses a serious threat to the lives of commuters.

“Considering all these dangerous scenarios, we appeal to the federal government to make Ekiti a priority in this dry season for our people to feel governance and enjoy the dividends of the present government.”