Traditional rulers in Osun West Senatorial District, on Wednesday, appealed to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to reconstruct the dilapidated Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo road.
In a communique jointly signed by a total number of 15 monarchs, and read by the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, Telu, the monarch said the dilapidated situation of the road calls for urgent attention of the Osun government.
READ THE FULL COMMUNIQUE
BEING A PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE AFFECTED ROYAL FATHERS TO HIS EXCELLENCY ALHAJI GBOYEGA OYETOLA THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF OSUN STATE PRESENTED ON OUR BEHALF BY HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY OBA ABDUR RASHEED ADEWALE AKANBI, TELU 1, THE OLUWO OF IWO KINGDOM PROTOCOL
Your Royal Majesties, Distinguished members of the media profession. It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this crucial event of a press conference aimed at seeking the infrastructural development of our areas.
This press conference has become necessary to invite the attention of His Excellency the Executive Governor of Osun State, ALHAJI GBOYEGA OYETOLA to the plight of the various local government areas and cities affected by the infrastructural development deficit in this area, and this paper is hereby addressed to His Excellency the Governor of Osun State.
This address has also become necessary regardless of anything, government is a continuum. Our Dear Governor Gboyega Oyetola, it was widely reported (see PUNCH
Newspaper of 28th June, 2022 edition https://punchng. com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/punchng.com/makinde-oyetola-to reconstruct-84-6km-osogbo-iwo-ibadan-road/) that “the governments of Oyo and Osun States have concluded arrangements to award contracts for the reconstruction of the Osogbo-Iwo-Ibadan road.”
In the newspaper, it was reported that “The Commissioner for Works in Osun State, Remi Omowaiye, and his Oyo State counterpart, Kehinde Sangodoyin, announced this at a joint press conference in Ibadan on Monday”, and that “…they had agreed that the project would start in July.”
The commissioner added that the determination to improve infrastructure and deliver good governance were the factors driving the two Governors, and that “…the road project was to foster regional integration, boost food production, and improve security along the corridor.”
This is the first time Governors from different states and of different political parties would come together to jointly prosecute a project beneficial to their people. This is a great lesson in national development, political tolerance rather than unbridled hostile and destructive political animosity that has neither brought peace or development to our people.
Your Excellency our Dear Governor Gboyega Oyetola, the Osun West Senatorial District consists of ten (10) Local Government Areas (LGAs), out of which seven (7) LGAs and part of Osogbo Local Government (Osun Central) are affected and involved in this Appeal to the State Government regarding the Osogbo-Iwo road rehabilitation/reconstruction. The LGAS are (in alphabetical order):
1. Ayedire Local Government Area
2. Ede North Local Government Area
3. Ede South Local Government Area 4. Egbedore Local Government Area
5. Ejigbo Local Government Area
6. Iwo Local Government Area 7. Ola-Oluwa Local Government Area
8. Osogbo Local Government Area This same Ibadan/Iwo/Osogbo road cut across about ten (10) local governments in Oyo State.
Our Dear Governor Gboyega Oyetola, the main objective of this royal address is to appeal to Your Excellency not to relent in the laudable effort that you have started over a year ago, and to please kindly approve the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Osogbo-lwo road up to the Osun Oyo State boundary. The newspaper report mentioned above quoted the Osun State Honourable Commissioner for Works, Mr Remi Omowaiye, as saying that “the reconstruction will aid the movement of agric produce along that corridor. Oyo will construct the 29.2 kilometres stretch that falls within its boundary and Osun will do 55.4km from Dele Yes sir to our boundary with Oyo State.”
The road is in a serious state of disrepair, full of potholes of various sizes, with parts of the road already being washed away by heavy erosions. Traffic frequency has become so low that motorists groan in pains – pains to their body and vehicles. So many commercial transporters, especially those plying OSOGBO to IWO and vice versa, have been deprived of their vehicles because they have to keep repairing the vehicles due to the damages being impacted on the vehicles requiring heavy costs to repair each time. So, several of them have had to park the vehicles at home or abandoned them at mechanic workshops.
This painful state of the road has equally affected commercial activities in this area as so many vehicles have abandoned the road for Osogbo.
OdeOmu-Gbongan-Ikire road to reach Ibadan and vice versa because they find that road to be than the Osogbo-two-badan road. However, the Osogbo-lwo-lbadan road is shorter than the Osogbo OdeOmu-Gbongan-Ikire road to Ibadan.
Abandoning the road has grave implications for insecurity in the areas affected as it is beginning to make the road look unkempt, bushy and isolated, and so it is rapidly becoming a haven for criminals especially kidnappers for ransom and rituals. The Osun State government has just recently listed this area as one of the areas being inhabited by devilish and criminal people seeking to unleash terror on the people of the areas and on the state entirely. We do not want this to happen and so we are appealing to our Governor to please help us prevent this by immediately approving the rehabilitation/reconstruction of the Osogbo-Iwo road up to the Osun-Oyo States boundary. We appeal to your Excellency to make this road one of your legacies in Osun State.
Our Dear Governor Oyetola, the significance of this particular road to agricultural activities in Osun State can never be over emphasized. Accessibility to agricultural products and produce is already being affected. Rehabilitating this road will be a major incentive to farmers and marketers in these areas.
His Excellency the Executive Governor of Oyo State Engr Seyi Makinde has accepted to also commence the rehabilitation of the Oyo State part of the Iwo-Ibadan road so that the Osogbo-lwo-Ibadan road can then be completely rehabilitated/reconstructed by the governments of both states. This would in turn boost economic activity in the State especially in the eight local government areas affected primarily by the road.
We therefore wish to appeal to your good office not to stop your good works in the State because “Ise rere ko gbodo dúró ó”.
This is one of your legacies, and we will regard this as your gift to those local government areas that supported you at the last elections, and indeed your gift to the whole of Osun State who voted you in as Governor in this first term.
Our Dear Governor, it is our ardent belief and hope that your “ise rere”
will not stop.
On behalf of the Royal Majesties of the affected local government areas,
I say:
God bless you sir.
God bless Osun State.
