The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oyo/Ogbomoso road

  • Protesters issue 30-day ultimatum to state, FG over Oyo/Ogbomoso road

    Protesters issue 30-day ultimatum to state, FG over Oyo/Ogbomoso road

    Some youths have protested and issued a 30-day ultimatum to the  Federal and Oyo State governments to address the hardship being faced by motorists along Oyo/Ogbomoso road due to the deplorable condition of the road.

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    The youths, including students under the National Association of University Students (NAUS), and Ogbomoso Indigenous Associations in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, took to the streets to protest the dilapidated condition of the route for commuters travelling between the north and southwest.

  • Protesters issue 30-day ultimatum over Oyo/Ogbomoso road

    Protesters issue 30-day ultimatum over Oyo/Ogbomoso road

    Some young protesters have issued a 30-day ultimatum to Federal and Oyo State governments to address hardship of motorists on the Oyo/Ogbomoso highway.

    The youths, including students under the National Association of University Students and Ogbomoso Indigenous Associations in Ogbomoso, took to the streets to protest the dilapidated state of the highway for commuters 

    Speaking, on behalf of the protesters at the Taki Roundabout in Ogbomoso, the Vice President of NAUS, Tiamiyu Olayinka, frowned at the tragic loss of lives caused by frequent accidents on the route.

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    He warned failure of government and concerned authorities to meet their demands would lead to more demonstrations and economic losses.

    He urged the Federal Ministry of Works and relevant authorities to speed up work to Complete the Ibadan-Ogbomoso Road project to give succor to affected businesses and residents.

  • Protests over Oyo/Ogbomoso road

    SIR: The coming together of diverse group of people at Takie square Ogbomoso, Oyo State yesterday, Wednesday August 1, to protest the non-completion of construction work on Ogbomoso-Oyo Expressway shows that when people are pushed to the wall, they could fight back. Although the protest was nonviolent, it is a signal to the government that people are fed up with the insensitivity of same to plight of the road users in the periphery of Nigeria.

    The road was initiated by President Olusegun Obasanjo government in 2001. The two other sections of the expressway have been commissioned more than 10 years ago while the Oyo-Ogbomoso section has been abandoned for long despite the appropriation of billions of naira for the work by the federal government and empty promises by politicians over the construction work. The non-completion of the expressway has led to death of hundreds of people and loss of properties.

    In the words of the chairman of the community, Rev. Dr. Israel O. Olaniyan, “our plight is that the present Ogbomoso-Oyo road has become a death trap. It kills more people than does HIV/AIDS or any other diseases in this community. Statistics at our disposal indicate that an average of 15 persons die on the road per week when this is multiplied by 52 weeks that makes a year, it indicates that an average of 780 persons is lost annually on this road. When this is multiplied by nine years since Ogbomoso / Oyo section of the road was awarded, it shows that an average of 7,000 person have lost their lives on Ogbomoso-Oyo Road.

    This is alarming and calls for urgent completion of the express road under construction. Even yesterday some commuters lost their lives around Oolo on Oyo road. These have been a recurring decimal that must not be allowed to recur. Accidental deaths on the road have drastically cut short the life expectancy of persons living in this part f Nigeria”.

    The rally which was peaceful in nature was addressed by all sections of the community and all the speakers appealed to the government to expedite action on the road so as to stop untimely death. As a matter of fact, the rally has the backing of all traditional rulers in the area.

    While the rally lasted, the ever busy Ilorin-Ogbomoso-Oyo road was blocked and no vehicle was allowed to pass the road. These caused the delay for the articulated vehicles and other road users using the road. Meanwhile, articulated lorry drivers and other road users are commended for their patience while the rally lasted. The lorry drivers were calm knowing fully well that the delay they experienced was for their own good.

    The government should listen to the voice of the people and fix Ogbomoso-Oyo road with urgency it deserves as indeed other death traps called roads all over Nigeria.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite,

    Ayekooto05@gmail.com 

  • Carnage on Oyo/Ogbomoso road

    SIR: The road mishap which occurred near Ijawaya village, along Oyo – Ogbomoso road on Wednesday, January 24, which involved an articulated vehicle and a bus conveying school teachers among others to Ogbomoso from Oyo has added to the number of the carnages on that road caused by insensitivity of our leaders. In the mishap, five promising lives were lost, including three school principals, a school account clerk and the driver of the ill fated bus. The above exclude those who were injured and are being treated at Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.

    The failure of successive governments after Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who started the Ibadan-Ilorin expressway to complete the road shows the wickedness of our leaders and their disdain for the people they govern. Non-completion of the road is also an indictment of the political office holders particularly at the national level from Oyo Central and Oyo North Central districts. Our esteemed royal fathers are too silent on the bad condition of the road; had they used their influence with the authorities, the construction work on the road would have been completed. We should recollect that the road was flagged off in 2001. The Ilorin-Ogbomoso axis as well as Ibadan-Oyo has been commissioned since 2008. Is it not therefore absurd that Oyo-Ogbomoso cannot be fixed 10 years after the other axis have been put to use?

    We hear that money has been budgeted for the road and our representatives at the National Assembly have been beating their chest for the feat. But up till now, the construction company has not returned to site which was abandoned because of failure to pay the contractors by the government. President Buhari’s administration has onerous task at hand in completing this road to stop carnage on this very important road linking the north to the south of the country.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite,

    ayekooto05@gmail.com

  • 12 die in accident on Oyo/Ogbomoso road

    No fewer than 12 people were feared dead in a commercial bus that plunged into Odo-Oba River on Oyo/Ogbomoso road yesterday.
    Sources said the bus plunged into the river while attempting to dodge a trailer which strayed into its path.
    It was learnt that the bus was traveling to Ilorin when the accident occurred near Ogbomoso.
    A source who spoke in confidence said: “From the report I had, the bus was travelling to Ilorin and as it approached the slope leading to the small bridge over the river, an articulated truck took over the path of the road and in an effort to avoid collision with it, the bus driver veered off the road and plunged into the river.
    “It was difficult pulling the passengers out of the river despite volunteer rescuers that arrived at the scene early. Twelve people died immediately.”
    Confirming the accident, the Public Relations Officer of the Oyo State Police Command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said 12 people died, adding that their corpses were deposited at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.
    “The driver of the Mazda bus lost control of the vehicle and plunged into the Odo-Oba River. Nine adults and three kids died on the spot and their bodies have been deposited at the LATECH Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso. There were three survivors. The police with assistance from local drivers helped pull the bodies and passengers out of the river. The vehicle is still in the river,” Ajisebutu said.
    The Oyo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Yusuf Salami, also confirmed the accident but said he was yet to be given the actual casualty and the survivors.
    The Oyo-Ogbomoso section of the Ibadan-Ilorin Road has received the attention of the Federal Government. Contractors have been mobilized and working on site. It is expected to be delivered by next year.

  • Fed Govt resumes Oyo/Ogbomoso road project

    Fed Govt resumes Oyo/Ogbomoso road project

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    THE Federal Government yesterday officially resumed Oyo-Ogbomoso road project, which is the section II of the Ibadan-Ilorin expressway.

    The resumption ceremony of the 52-kilometre road, which was facilitated by the Senator representing Oyo Central, Monsurat Sunmonu, took place at the boundary of the Oyo-Ogbomoso road.

    It was learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari approved N6 billion for the project, which was awarded to Reynolds Construction Company (RCC), to resume after much pressure from the federal lawmakers in the constituency area.

    Flagging off the construction of the road, Minister of Works, Power and Housing Babatunde Fashola express the commitment of the Buhari administration to ensure the speedy completion of the road.

    Fashola, who was represented by the Controller of Works, Federal Ministry of Works in Oyo State, Mr. Anya Omorekpe, said the Federal Government would force the contractors handling the project to do quality job.

    “The concentration of heavy trucks on this road is about 80 per cent and that is why shall separate it into two lanes. The work will be constructed along the specification of the Ministry of Works. We shall ensure that Nigerians must have value for their money,” he said

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Works Senator Kabiru Gaya said the project was a cardinal point in the agenda of Buhari led administration. He added that it will be completed in the next three yearsý.

    Gaya hinted that the Senate had summoned contractors, who handled the Ibadan-Oyo expressway, which is now in a deplorable condition.

    He said: “I will urge the contractor to ýensure quality and speedy construction of the road. This road is very important to President Muhammadu Buhari, Oyo State and the country at large. We shall not tolerate shoddy work and even the contractor that constructed the Section I from Ibadan to Oyo will be probed and will be made to face the law. The agreement on that road was to live up to 15 years, but unfortunately, it’s not even up to three years after completion before it started washing away.”

    The senator noted that the government would not tolerate any contractor, who fails to do quality job.

    The facilitator of the project, Mrs. Sunmonu, who said she felt indebted to her constituents because resumption of work on the road was her focal point during the 2015 campaign, hailed President Buhari for approving the budget for the former death-trap road.

    She revealed that in her bid to ensure that the project got mentioned in 2016 budget, she “co-sponsored a motion moved on the floor of the Senate, which directed investigation into the status of dilapidated and uncompleted roads in Nigeria”.

    According to her, “the road and particularly this section, has a chequered history. Despite the fact that the other two sections have been commissioned, this section had been left fallow for a number of years.

    “Over the years, the Oyo/Ogbomoso Expressway has deteriorated to a level where maintenance was no longer feasible, having outlived its design life and the road becoming very dangerous to motorists and pedestrians.

    Performing the flag off ceremony, Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, who hailed members of the National Assembly, who facilitated the resumption of the road project, stressed the importance of good road networking for the country’s economic growth.

    According to him, road infrastructure is a major contributor to economic growth.

    The governor noted that it will give room for easy transportation of goods and services and, therefore, aiding trade and commerce.