The Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, on Tuesday visited Ekiti State to inspect the condition of federal roads, as stranded motorists raised concerns over the deteriorating state of the Ifaki-Oye-Kabba Road. Goronyo, who visited the Ifaki-Oye-Kabba Road, where road users groaned over a bad portion around Oye-Ekiti and articulated vehicles had been stuck for days, expressed concern over the hardship being experienced by motorists stranded along the route. An articulated vehicle driver, Quasm Abudu, who said he had been stuck at a particular spot on the highway for about three days, lamented the hardship he had faced and the opportunities he had missed while stranded on the road. A road user and resident of Oye-Ekiti, Mr Bolade Olowo, who spoke at the bad spot, described the situation as “traumatic and unpalatable”, lamenting that the continued deterioration of the road was crippling socio-economic activities. He said, “The continued deterioration of the road is crippling socio-economic activities. It has cut off communities in the local government and along the route. It also poses a serious security threat in the area.” Olowo appealed to President Bola Tinubu, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency and other relevant authorities to urgently mobilise resources towards fixing the road. “The route links Ifaki, Oye, Ayegbaju, Ilupeju, Itapa and Osin-Ekiti, among communities critical to the economic activities of residents in Oye Local Government in Ekiti State, leading to other states of the country, where heavy-duty trucks pass to other states,” he said. The minister of state, who spoke at the bad portion while emergency palliative works had already begun to make the road passable and free trucks that had been stranded for days, reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to fixing the Ifaki-Oye-Kabba Road within the shortest possible time. Goronyo said the road, which linked the South-West with the northern part of the country, was a critical economic corridor that required urgent intervention, disclosing that a contract for the rehabilitation of the road was awarded to Gamji in 2025. He said, “The contractor had been mobilised, but was complaining of inadequate funding. The Federal Government will review the funding arrangement and ensure that the contractor is adequately mobilised to return to site.” He said the government had, however, begun immediate intervention through FERMA, adding that equipment and materials had already been deployed to the affected section. He said, “We want to appeal to all the people concerned that they should be patient with us. We will make sure that we put this road to use very, very soon. “My appeal to the agitated motorists is that they should please bear with us. We are deploying materials to this place and they should create a conducive atmosphere for the contractor to be able to do this work within 48 hours. “We are going to block the entrance from the Ifaki end to ensure that no articulated vehicles ply this road again until this project, I mean this palliative arrangement, is completed,” Goronyo said. The Minister of State, Goronyo (holding a white sheet), with other officials of the Ministry of Works, inspecting the failed portion along Ifaki-Oye-Kabba Road The Minister of State also inspected the Efon-Iwaraja Road, where car owners were seen turning back owing to a ditch at a particular spot on the road and using another route to their destinations. Goronyo promised immediate remedial work on the failed portion of the road, assuring motorists and residents that the Federal Government would not allow the federal road to remain impassable. Goronyo said, “I am assuring residents and motorists that the Federal Government would undertake immediate remedial work on the Efon-Iwaraja Road to restore access and ease the hardship being experienced by road users.” The minister of state, who said the intervention was part of the broader directive by President Tinubu to address critical road failures across the country and ensure the free flow of traffic, said the Tinubu administration was leaving no stone unturned in ensuring good roads across the country. He said the Tinubu administration was undertaking major projects, including the about 1,068km Illela-Sokoto-Badagry Highway, the about 750km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road. He said, “The massive investment in road infrastructure is necessary because roads are central to virtually every aspect of the economy. Once you have roads, you have security, you have employment generation, you have agriculture, you have healthcare. You have everything. Roads lead to prosperity.” Goronyo, while reiterating the Federal Government’s determination to complete ongoing projects and use improved road infrastructure to stimulate commerce, industries, employment and food security, said, “There is no president in the history of this country that has given priority to road infrastructure like President Bola Tinubu. “For the past one week, the Minister of Works, David Umahi; myself; all the directors in the ministry, all the SAs and SSAs of Mr President; we have been crisscrossing the roads across the country. We have met a very difficult situation, and we are fixing it,” the minister of state said.
