Residents of Osogbo, Osun State, have expressed dissatisfaction with the poor condition of the roads in the state capital.

The residents, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo on Sunday, said the deplorable state of the roads had made it difficult for them to carry out their daily businesses with ease.

They urged the state government to rise up to its responsibilities by providing good and accessible roads for its citizens.

Some motorists begged Governor Ademola Adeleke for urgent intervention, saying that they could no longer keep silent over the hardship they suffer daily on the roads in the metropolis.

Some of the deplorable roads visited by NAN were Ofafedo Road, Owode-Ede Market Road, Ogo-Oluwa Road, Oke-Baale Road, among others.

Malam Yusuf Akewusola, a resident of the Ofatedo area, lamented that the state government had abandoned the only road linking the area, leaving residents to face hardship.

Akewusola said many tenants and landlords had relocated from the area due to the deplorable state of the road.

He said that during the rainy season, vehicles and pedestrians always find it difficult to access the road, urging the government to come to their rescue.

“The state government should know that Ofatedo cannot be put aside when it comes to socio-economic and political roles, as what goes around also comes around,” he said.

Also, Mr. Emmanuel Alabi, a civil servant residing in the Apete/Odomburo-Oloba area in Owode-Ede, said the major road from Owode-Ede Market Junction to the main town, which usually witnessed heavy vehicular movement, was full of potholes.

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Alabi said, “Although there is ongoing road construction in some parts of the state where few motorists hardly pass, the ones with heavy vehicular movement due to its economic importance and other benefits are being neglected.”

Mrs. Medinatu Adabanija, a businesswoman in the Oke-Baale area, said the deplorable state of the road in the area was affecting her business and making life unbearable for residents.

Adabanija said several efforts had been made by community leaders to draw the attention of the state government to the road, but with no success.

She appealed to the state government to come to their rescue.

Mr. Rasheed Fadunsin, a resident of Kobo area, said that the road from Joy Filling Station to Ayegbami-Aganga Road was in terrible condition and needed urgent attention.

He said that Okada riders, tricycle, and mini-bus operators always avoid carrying passengers to the area due to the bad condition of the road.

According to him, residents have to trek long distances due to the refusal of Okada riders and tricycle operators to ply the road as a result of its deplorable condition.

A tricycle operator, Mr. Kola Abass, told NAN that the poor condition of the roads in the state capital was affecting operators’ livelihood and daily income.

Abass said, “What I make on a daily basis is nothing to write home about. I make little or no profit, and once there is a sign of rain, all operators will have to retire for the day because most roads will be slippery.

“We won’t be able to move. This is exhausting for us.”

In his reaction, Engr. Bello Bashir, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, said that the government had mapped out strategies to ensure the rehabilitation of all bad roads in the state.

Bashir said that the state government had completed the construction of some major roads across the state, and some were ongoing, while others would be attended to.

He said that most of the roads mentioned by residents would be looked into and that drastic measures were in place to ensure they were in good condition.

The Permanent Secretary also said that the state government would soon start another road reconstruction, rehabilitation, and construction in addition to the ongoing road projects.