Oyo-Iseyin road not among projects for 2019 – FERMA boss

Commuters of the Oyo-Iseyin road are to look up to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing for the reconstruction of the road as the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has explained that maintenance of the road is not in the agency’s 2019 budget.

Zonal Coordinator, South West 1, FERMA, Mrs Mary Adeniran, who disclosed this during an appearance at plenary of the Oyo State House of Assembly, pointed out that the Oyo-Iseyin road had gone beyond routine maintenance which was the primary duty of the agency.

Adding, she noted that FERMA was handicapped to intervene on the road not only by limited resources to oversee 34,000 kilometres of roads but also by the fact that the road was not among FERMA projects for 2019.

Noting that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing was aware of the deplorable state of the Oyo-Iseyin road, she expressed the belief that going by the assurance obtained from the Controller of Works, rehabilitation work on the road will begin soon.

“The Oyo-Iseyin road is 45km in length and the situation on the road is very deplorable. FERMA as an agency is a maintenance outfit and there is little we can do when a road has become very deplorable.

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“Sometimes we get to a point where we draw the attention of the Controller for Works, that is the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and that is what we have done in this situation.

“The Controller of Works has given us reliable information that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing is doing something concerning that road. Very soon, we believe work will start on that road.

“If we have resources within our reach, we could say we could tackle some aspects of what is required on that road.

“But unfortunately, there is no provision under the allocation for FERMA projects in this year 2019 but under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, there is a provision for that specific road.

“For FERMA as an agency, right now, there is no contract on that road but the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing will do something on that road very soon,” Adeniran said.

Meanwhile, the state Assembly, on Tuesday, confirmed the five-man makeup of the state Local Government Service Commission, as sent by Governor Seyi Makinde.

Their confirmation was sequel to a motion by deputy Speaker, Honourable Abiodun Fadeyi and Honourable Wumi Oladeji of Ogbomoso North constituency that consequent upon the “robust credentials and experience” of the nominees, they should be asked to “bow and go”.

Confirmed for subsequent inauguration by Makinde are Mr Remi Ayodele as Chairman; Mr Oyesina Oyedeji, Mr John Abisoye Adisa-Oke, Mr Oke Taiwo and Mrs Nike Arewa as members.

Speaking afterwards, Ayodele said the commission was resolved to “turn things around at the local government level and ensure that constituents enjoy the dividends of democracy.”

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He further assured of supervision of activities of the workforce of the local government for transparency, efficiency and diligence.

“Some of us appointed as Chairman and commissioners are veterans of the local government system for decades. We are familiar with the dynamics of the local government administration and we assure that in line with Governor Seyi Makinde’s desire to turn things around for the good of the people of Oyo state, we will turn things around at the third tier of government.

“We are going to see to operations at the third tier of government, ensure that things work very well and that the people enjoy the dividends of democracy at that level of government. We will ensure that the workforce do their work diligently and transparently and key into the action agenda of our action governor in Oyo State,” Ayodele said.

In a motion presented by Honourable Dele Adeola of Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency, the Assembly urged the executive arm to fully exploit the potentials of the Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme (OYSADEP) to increase food production and bring about an agricultural revolution.

For OYSADEP to live up to its potential to improve the Agric sector in the state, the Assembly tasked the Makinde led government to address the issue of shortage of staff, provide utility vehicles to enable extension workers to carry out field operations and resuscitate all existing storage facilities.

The Assembly further pointed out that making OYSADEP perform to its optimum will improve the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), engender food security and create employment opportunities for residents of the state.