The Edo State government has decried the deplorable state of federal roads in the state.
The roads, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, include Benin-Sapele, Benin-Agbor, Benin-Auch and Benin-Lagos roads, among others.
The statement reads: “Edo State is a transportation hub. It is concerning that the major Federal Road network in the state, which connects parts of the country, is in such deplorable condition.
“We don’t think that a region where the oil resources that sustain the country come from should be neglected.
“On several occasions, communities have protested the poor condition of the roads, and the state government has intervened by calling on the Federal Government to speed up efforts to fix the roads.
“For instance, in October 2022, the governor urged the Federal Government to reconstruct the Benin-Auchi Road, because it became really dangerous and fueling insecurity in the state.
The state government also placed a ban on 30-ton and above heavy-duty vehicles from passing through state roads, as a measure to awaken the Federal Government to its responsibilities.
“A few months ago, the Department of State Security (DSS) had noted that the Benin-Sapele Road was on the verge of collapse. The governor had also raised the deplorable condition of federal roads in the state at National Executive Council (NEC) meetings to draw the attention of the immediate past Federal Government to the urgent need to intervene and fix them.”
SIMILARLY, the state government has said it cannot intervene in fixing the Benin-Auchi and Benin-Sapele roads because the Federal Government has already awarded contracts for repair of the roads.
Obaseki disclosed this to journalists after the monthly Security Council meeting, held in the Government House, Benin City, the state capital.
The governor said that much as the state is a transportation hub, it is concerned that the major federal road network in the state is in bad condition.
He noted that his administration has done everything in its power to get the Federal Government to look into the repairs of damaged federal roads in the state.
