By Femi Ogbonnikan
Relief is underway for five additional communities in Ogun State that have suffered road neglect under successive administrations. Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun recently rekindled the hope of the distrust residents of the affected areas following his round tour of the state for an on-the-spot assessment of some abandoned road projects that had 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.
Moving forward, he gave a marching order to the erring contractors to immediately go back to the site and complete the projects within a stipulated time without any further delay. He specifically gave the contractor handling Denro-Ishashi-Akute road a two-week ultimate to complete the project.
The project along the corridor has taken far too long. However, with the Governor’s intervention, relief has now come upon the people like rain waters, hoping that their suffering would soon be a thing of the past.
The story didn’t end there. In furtherance of the commitment of his administration to achieve infrastructure transformation of the State, Governor Abiodun has also penciled down five additional communities to benefit from new road construction. Barring any untoward development, work will soon begin in earnest on the roads already listed to ease the hardship of the residents of the areas. The State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ade Akinsanya, gave the assurance on Thursday, precisely July 18, 2024 during a press conference while giving an update on the ongoing road constructions in the State. The five additional roads 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 further reiterated the readiness of the state government to continue with the reconstruction of the remaining 17 kilometers Akute-Ijoko road, stating that it would be divided into two phases. According to him, the first phase will start from Akute to Oke-Aro where the issue of flooding would be addressed, while the next phase will be from Oke-Aro to Ijoko.
Similarly, by projection, the construction work on the 20-kilometre Agbara-Lusada-Atan in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area is expected to be completed by September. The government has equally put Ajuwon and Akute-Ajuwon roads on the priority list. For so long, the Agbara-Lusada-Atan road has been in a deplorable condition. However, last week, Governor Abiodun promised that the construction work on the road would be completed in September. While speaking to journalists during his inspection, he stressed the importance of the road not only to the economic well-being of the State but the nation as a whole. He also assured that construction would soon start on the Alagbole-Ajuwon and Akute-Ajuwon roads. “I am a promise-keeping governor. I will not make empty promises. Now, within the next two weeks, a maximum of three weeks, active construction will start on Alagbole-Ajuwon and Akute-Ajuwon roads,” Governor Abiodun said.
He further reiterated his commitment to ensure equitable provision of infrastructures across the state, adding that this is being followed religiously. He maintained that his administration had kept faith with his promise to ensure that road construction was evenly spread across the 20 local governments in the state.
To underscore the effort the state government has made in achieving its target in the network of infrastructures, Abiodun disclosed that 600 kilometres of roads had been reconstructed by his 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,” he said.
Outside the priority roads within the state, there is also good news for motorists plying the ever-busy Lagos-Ota-Sango-Abeokuta which ordinarily should be a direct responsibility of the Federal Government. Given a free hand, the rehabilitation work on the road would have been completed.
However, the bureaucratic bottleneck stalled the joint efforts of the Ogun State government and its counterpart in Lagos State to take over the financing of the road in the interest of the commuting public. Recounting the awful experience occasioned by the undue obstinacy of the Federal Government officials, Governor Abiodun narrated: “The Lagos-Sango- Abeokuta road is a federal government road and has been in a very bad shape for long. Because of the suffering our people pass through on the road, I and my counterpart in Lagos jointly wrote a letter, using a single letterhead to the Federal Executive Council, seeking for the transfer of that road for us to reconstruct.
“After waiting for a month without a reply, we wrote a reminder. That road was not handed over to us until the present federal government came on board. The contract for the road has since been awarded since May this year.”
The Commissioner, speaking further on the road, disclosed that the contract for the reconstruction had been awarded to Craneburg Construction Company following the approval of the State Executive Council. Contingent upon the completion of administrative processes at the federal level, he expressed optimism that the contractor would soon move to the site. He said: “The job will be done in phases beginning from Sango to Abeokuta with four gangs working at the same time. Though there is still some paperwork to be done, the governor decided to start the reconstruction of the road to relieve the people of the pain they go through on a daily basis.
“In addition to this, the governor has facilitated more projects financed by the Federal Government. An example is the Laderin Train Station road, Abeokuta phase one. That project is in two phases beginning from Laderin to the train station with the channelization of stormwater to the drainages.”
Beyond that, he noted that the governor had also played a major role in 14 other ongoing projects across the state such as the Ilisan Market road to Babcock, in Ikenne Local Government Area. He stated that his ministry was collaborating with the Federal Government to rehabilitate an additional 21 roads across the state, beginning with Ado Odo/Ota, Yewa North, and South, as well as Abeokuta North and South.
“One of the key projects the governor has played a major role is in the reconstruction of Sango-Atan-Owode-Idi-Iroko road. That project is ongoing. The governor facilitated its commencement as the project has been on paper for so many years.
“We have two bridges along that road. This will bring relief to the people, especially those at Oju-Ore roundabout where there is a major problem. That problem will be resolved with a flyover at the location. Then, moving from there to Canaan Land, Ota, there will be another bridge, and the road will go all the way to the Idi-Iroko border,” he added.
Akinsanya, however, decried the attitude of dumping refuse on drainages and buildings on waterways resulting in flooding and damaging the roads.
One of the overarching objectives of the agenda of the Abiodun administration is the development of road infrastructure as a catalyst for industrial growth. Apart from creating a conducive environment for investment, it also aligns with the priority of the state government to ensure road interconnectivity among the various communities. Apart from boosting the local economy, it also promotes the ease of doing business.
Among other benefits, road construction allows for the movement of goods, services, and people. In the same vein, it stimulates employment generation by the construction industry which is considered the largest employer of labour in the State.
For this pivotal role, therefore, 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. This is the first time the stakeholders at the grassroots would be allowed to be part of the decision-making process on the choice of projects that directly affect their lives.
And so far, no section of the state has been left out in the aggressive infrastructure revolution that has turned Ogun State into an investment destination of choice, not only in Nigeria but the West African sub-region.
Today, the state can boast of no less than 6000 industries, including the largest cement factories in Nigeria, producing the highest tons of cement. These include Lafarge, Dangote as well as others that are just springing up. The state is equally the home of industrial giants like Nestle, Cadbury, Unilever, May & Baker, International Breweries, Olams, Flour Mills, and a host of others.
The multiplier effect of this on the state’s economy has significantly impacted on the state’s revenue generation capacity. In particular reference to the recent report by the Economic Confidential, Ogun State is the second leading economically viable state in Nigeria after Lagos State. For three consecutive sessions under the administration, the state has routinely maintained its competitive edge over the rest parts of the country. This is evidence of the commitment of the present government to sustainable industrial growth through the creation of a conducive environment for businesses. Apart from the network of road infrastructure across the three senatorial districts, continuous improvement in the Easy-of-Doing-Business and other reform initiatives have provided an attraction for investors.
Since Governor Abiodun assumed the mantle of leadership, the Ogun State government has desired to reduce its dependency on federal allocations. In achieving the objective, the Governor has made a conscious effort to increase the state’s revenue profile by wooing local and foreign investors, enhancing the ease of doing business, and facilitating the rapid industrialization of the state to boost job creation and widen the tax net, among other strategies.
Following its consistent positive performance in generating revenue, Ogun State has now been ranked as Nigeria’s leading Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) state on Index A1. According to BudgIT, the state has been able to significantly grow its IGR year-on-year, progressively reducing its reliance on federal allocations.
In the last five years, Ogun has remained among Nigeria’s top four IGR states, coming behind Lagos, Rivers, and the FCT, Abuja. With the avowed commitment of the Abiodun administration to consolidate its position as Nigeria’s top investment destination of choice, the state has now taken the lead in the percentage of IGR growth.
Ogbonnikan writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital
