Senate summons Umahi over ‘abandoned’ old Oyo-Ogbomosho road

The Senate on Wednesday summoned the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, over the deplorable state of the Old Oyo-Ogbomosho Road.

More than 10 years after the Federal Government began major repairs on the road, it has remained deplorable, causing regular accidents and daily gridlock by articulated vehicles.

Umahi is to appear before the Senate Committee on Works to explain what led to the abandonment of vast portions of the road, many years after the execution of the contract began.

The committee has three weeks to submit a report to the Senate, the Red Chamber directed during its plenary in Abuja on Wednesday.

A motion of urgent public importance, which led to the Senate’s resolution, was moved by Senator Buhari Abdulfatai (Oyo-North), who drew his colleagues’ attention to the worsening condition of the road

Abdulfatai said the road, a major link between the South and the North, had caused untold hardship for travellers, most of whom were frequently stranded due to the poor state of the road.

Senators unanimously endorsed the motion.

The Senate also passed for second reading, a bill for the establishment of the Federal University of Agriculture and Tropical Studies, Iragbiji, Osun State.

Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti-Central), while leading the debate on the bill, said the establishment of the university was part of the ongoing efforts by the government to diversify the nation’s economy.

Several senators, including Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Sen. Solomon Olamilekan, supported the bill.

They called for more efforts and initiatives such as the proposed university, to develop agriculture and promote technology-driven farming.

“We should have more of this. This is a very important bill, and we should all support it,” Jibrin urged his colleagues.

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