Governor Ademola Adeleke has denied contracting substandard roads in the state, describing the allegations as propaganda being peddled around by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against his administration.
Adeleke, who is the governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the Saturday’s Osun state gibenrroship election stated this on Tuesday in Osogbo during the Town Hall meeting organised for the day leading governorship candidates by ARISE TV.
Adeleke dismissed the allegations, noting that he used certified engineers — both Nigerian and international,to ensure the quality of roads.
The governor explained that the state capital, Osogbo and major towns in the states had seen significant transformation, including the construction of flyovers where necessary and the dualisation of major roads.
He revealed that his administration had constructed 350 km of roads across the state since he assumed office, including roads that had been abandoned for decades, while another 150 km are still under construction.
He added that as the governor, he also doubles as the Commissioner for works, saying that he personally inspects infrastructure projects to ensure quality.
Adeleke noted: “Talking about substandard (roads) , it’s a sin, why would I come and do substandard (roads). I use certified engineers — I use Nigerian engineers and in fact, we invited an international engineer. I don’t just sit in the office. I move around to double check it. I invited them and they certified all the beautiful roads that we have done.”
Adeleke further explained that recently there was a video of a collapsed road trending on social media, after fact-checking it, it was discovered that the road was constructed by the former administration of Gboyega Oyetola.
He added: “Talking about substandard roads, what have they done? That’s the question. At least do something and let somebody criticize. I’ve done a lot, I can tell you, go round and check it out.
“In Ife yesterday, I wanted to cry, people came out, appreciating our government. So let them continue to be doing their propaganda, and I got some news for them: when they go low, we go high.”
The governor said before he came to power, he promised himself that if he given the opportunity to govern the state, he would transform the state.
He stated: “There are some roads that I visited that have been abandoned for more than 45 years, some 35 years, I said it’s not acceptable. I fixed it, and I promise that Osun State money will stay in Osun, and it’s been happening.
“And you could see the economy is improving, it is trickling down because all the people that we hired to do all the jobs are here in Osun.
“Across the state, I’m not only building roads, I put solar lights. Please go round, take Osogbo as a case study, everywhere is littered with solar light, making it beautiful.”