The perennial hardship being experienced by the residents along Sango-Ijoko Road in Ifo will soon be a thing of the past. Just as the agonizing experience of their counterparts inward Alagbole -Ajuwon-Akute corridor also has a terminal date. By the end of February, that road project will be commissioned.
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, assured this comforting relief during an inspection of several roads under construction in Ifo 2 state constituency. This is in keeping with the promise he had earlier made while on-the-spot assessment of some abandoned road projects that have become an eyesore. Seeing the plight of the people under the state disrepair while on a visit to the site, he was practically livid with anger at the attitude of contractors who took the government’s money and disappeared into thin air, leaving the communities to suffer untold hardship.
Consequently, he gave a marching order to the contractors to immediately go back to the site and complete the projects within a stipulated time without further delay. With the ultimatum, the contractor went back to work with renewed energy, resulting in the timely completion of the Akute Road project which is now ready to be commissioned. According to the Governor, the 3.25 kilometres Alagbole-Ajuwon-Akute road in Ifo Local Government Area of the state would be ready for commissioning by the end of February 2025.
For the 17-kilometer Sango-Ijoko Road, Prince Abiodun disclosed that the project would be divided into two sections for quick completion. He clarified this while announcing the immediate construction of the road during the inspection of roads under construction in Ifo 2 state constituency.
Ecstatic about the progress of the ongoing projects, the Governor recounted his promises: “About four months ago, we were here in response to the fact that our attention was drawn to the state of roads in Ifo 2, particularly Alagbole-Ajuwon, Denro-Ishashi-Akute, Ajuwon-Akute, Ijoko-Sango, and Lambe. I came here and promised that within a few months, I would be back to commission all those roads that were in deplorable condition.
“Today, we are here; Alagbole-Akute is completed and 100 percent ready for commissioning, Ajuwon-Akute is ongoing, it is about 3.25 kilometers, and by God’s grace, by the end of February, it will be totally completed.
“Sango-Ijoko is a long road. We started it from the Sango area; we have an outstanding 17 kilometers, and we have decided to divide it into two sections of 8 kilometers each.”
The Governor said he had instructed the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr Ade Akinsanya, to ensure that construction start immediately at the worst sections of the road.
To allow the benefiting communities to make their input into the process, he added that the decision to ascertain those portions of the road would be collectively taken by the government and the residents.
“I am giving you my commitment because this constituency is of extreme importance to us; it is our border community with Lagos State, and there is a lot of cross-border migration between us and Lagos. It is important for us to make that cross-border experience as pleasurable as possible for the citizens, and that is our 100 percent commitment.
Governor Abiodun, therefore, urged the residents of the local government to use the road responsibly and maintain it to serve its original purpose.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Ifo Community Development Committee (CDC), Alhaji Akangbe Olatunde, commended the Governor for the ongoing construction on the Ajuwon-Akute road, saying the government had brought joy to the people of Ifo Local Government.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development and who hails from the community, Hon. Hadijat Adeleye, noted that the people of the area had gone through so much pain in the past with the neglect of the area by previous administrations. “We have gone through so much suffering in this area, we have seen so much. We are bordered by Lagos, but yet, we don’t have anything to show for it.
“But God sent someone; he sent Governor Dapo Abiodun to come and give us succour and lifted our spirits by bringing us out of the dust that we are known for in Ifo 2, we are most grateful to him,” she said.
According to the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ade Akinsanya, the first phase of the 17-kilometer Akute-Ijoko Road will start from Akute to Oke Aro where the issue of flooding will be addressed, while the next phase will be from Oke Aro to Ijoko.
Beyond the successes recorded so far, relief is also underway for five additional communities that have suffered road neglect under successive administrations. These include Alagbole-Ajuwon, Akute-Ajuwon, Toyin-Giwa Hercules road, Oke-Aro, all in Ifo Local Government Area in Ogun Central Senatorial District. Others are Oke-Erinja and Erinja in Yewa South as well as Awokoya road in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area.
Akinsanya gave the assurance during a recent press conference on the ongoing road construction in the State.
So far, no less than 600 kilometres of roads have been built by the present administration. “Today, we can brag and say not only have we constructed 600 kilometers of highway or roads, both inter-state, intra-state, inner-city roads, but, I beat my chest that there is no local government in Ogun State today that does not have at least one or two roads that we have reconstructed in the last five years and that is in line with been equitable and fair,” Governor Abiodun said.
The commitment to this feat aligns with the agenda of the administration to develop road infrastructure as a catalyst for industrial growth. Apart from creating a conducive environment for investment, road interconnectivity promotes socio-economic interaction among the various communities. It also stimulates employment generation by the construction industry which is considered as the largest employer of labour in the State.
In line with the inclusive governance style of Governor Abiodun, the developmental strategy of the administration is to ensure fairness in the distribution of infrastructural projects across the three senatorial districts and to also engender true ownership of the process through effective participation of the people in the choice of priority project in every community.
The same concern also informs the priority attention of the administration on security. The hallmark of this is the recent allocation of 100 hectares of Land to the Nigerian Navy for Naval Base and Dockyard.
Governor Abiodun disclosed this on Tuesday, saying his administration had completed the formalities of allocating the land at Ode-Omi in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state to cite a Naval Base and Dockyard for the Nigerian Navy.
He explained that the state government had waived all charges, which amounted to several billions, and had forwarded the Certificate of Occupancy to the naval headquarters.
The Governor made this statement in his office when he received the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Apapa, Lagos, Rear Admiral Mike Oamen, in his Oke-Mosan Office, Abeokuta.
His words: “In view of the prospective activities that we are envisaging in our riverine areas, the former Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, gladly obliged us and accepted that it is important for us to have a naval base and a dockyard in Ogun State.
“We proceeded to make different positions available, and at that time, a committee was set up between members of the Nigerian Navy and the state government to identify locations that would be acceptable to the Nigerian Navy.
“Subsequently, a location was identified in Ogun Waterside, and we allocated a parcel of land, 100 hectares, for the purpose of setting up this facility.
“We have since completed the formalities of allocating the parcel of land to the Nigerian Navy.
“We have waived all fees and charges, which amounted to several billions, and have since forwarded the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for that parcel of land to the naval headquarters.”
Governor Abiodun assured that the access road to the Naval Base and Dockyard would be ready by the end of the week, adding that the state was looking forward to the groundbreaking ceremony for the Naval Base and Dockyard.
He said the presence of a naval base in the state would ensure that unscrupulous elements do not take advantage of all the economic benefits that are on the horizon. “The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure is here, and he has briefed me that sometime by the end of this week, on or before, the access road to Ode-Omi, which is where the site for the Naval Base and Dockyard is located, will be ready, and the site itself will be prepared for groundbreaking.
“We did not make as much progress as we anticipated because of the rains; however, since the rain stopped, we have begun to work on the access to the place and also the site itself,” he said.
Governor Abiodun said his administration aimed to deepen its relationship with the Nigerian Navy, noting that the state is a coastal state because of the presence of Tongeji Island in Ipokia Local Government and Olokola Deep Sea Port in Ogun Waterside Local Government.
According to him, these two coastal areas are of particular interest to the administration because of Tongeji Island and Olokola Deep Sea Port regions where the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) had issued oil prospecting licenses in the past.
Noting the prospect of Ogun becoming an oil-producing state, he said the recent visit of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, NNPCL, and the Ministry of Petroleum to declare the state a frontier state was an indication that the state was moving in the right direction.
In his remarks, Rear Admiral Michael Oamen commended Governor Abiodun for the support he had been providing to the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies in the state. He said it was necessary to assist the Ogun State Government in ensuring security in its maritime space, adding that the Navy was poised to ensure that all coastal states were free from unscrupulous elements by maintaining a presence of Naval personnel in all the waterways and creeks.
“The Ogun State Governor has taken the security of life and property of residents and indigenes of the state very seriously, and the Nigerian Navy is very ready to support this effort.
“The Naval Base is part of the Chief of Naval Staff’s plan, and very soon work will commence there. Be assured that the Navy will be fully on the ground in Ogun State,” he said.
Ogbonnikan writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital
