Governor of Osun state, Senator Ademola Adeleke has ordered immediate spot rehabilitation of the very bad areas of Iwo-Osogbo road to ease the burden of motorists as preparation heightens for the full reconstruction.
Adeleke gave the directive to the Ministry of Works following increasing deterioration of the central region of the road amidst the current rainy season.
Spokesperson to the State Governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, in a statement issued Sunday said while the procurement process for the reconstruction of the road was almost completed, the state governor ordered the ministry to take remedial action to restore seamless mobility along the critical road artery.
He explained that the governor had gotten reports that some segments of the road are almost divided into two with multiple gullies which make the road connecting five local governments to the state capital almost impassable.
Rasheed noted that following the directive, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works deployed a team of engineers to assess the road to draw a plan of action for spot rehabilitation of the worst areas of the road.
He added: “The implementation of the Governor’s directive commences next Tuesday according to the plan by the Ministry.”
Rasheed said Adeleke assured that his administration has finalised a plan to fast-track the completion of the project by breaking the existing contract into three and getting three companies, including the previous contractor to reconstruct the road with a completion date of less than a year.
The governor was quoted to have said: “We are at the final stage of the procurement process. The contractors will soon be mobilized to site. We are slow because we have a duty to strictly comply with due process and the procurement laws.
“Our people in Iwo, Ayedire, Olaoluwa, Ejigbo, Egbedore and Ede local governments should be rest assured that our administration will break the jinx and complete the reconstruction of the road. We understand how strategic the road is to the economic life of the affected local governments”,.
TheHintsNews reports that the road was awarded at the twilight of the administration of former Governor Oyetola, with the contractor delivering a portion equivalent to the released fund, the remaining portion is now set for completion.