Now that the Supreme Court has finally confirmed Governor Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the 2023 governorship election in Ogun State, all eyes are one the governor to focus on good governance and the provision of dividends of democracy, which has eluded the state since he was sworn in for a second term in office barely eight months ago.

To keen followers of events in the state, including some of his party members, the pace of governance since he was sworn in for his second term in office on May 29, 2023, has been at snail speed, basically due to the distractions from the legal fireworks at the election tribunal.

As a form of attestation to this, the governor, two days after the ruling, at a thanksgiving service held at St. James’ Anglican Church, Iperu, Ikenne Local Council of the state, to mark his victory, confessed that the period preceding the court judgment was a great distraction, which he has put behind.

He said: “Although this period has brought a lot of distractions, I am relieved it is now behind us, allowing us to fully focus on our unwavering commitment to lead Ogun State to new heights and make it a shining example amongst not just Nigerian states, but other states in Africa.

“With just three years and four months remaining in our term, we are determined to implement the rest of our sustainable legacies that will create jobs, foster individual prosperity and promote the well-being and welfare of all our citizens.”

Just like his first term in office, which according to reports took him many months to get his bearings and kick start the real business of governance – the main purpose he was elected into office – seven months and 27 days in the saddle after his re-election, his impact has not been felt by residents.

The Guardian learnt that part of the expectations from his administration are majorly in the area of infrastructure, especially road construction, rural development and urban facelift due to dilapidated infrastructure and retinue of abandoned projects across the state left behind by the Senator Ibikunle Amosun administration.

The first major road that is attracting serious criticism for his administration is the 32km Sango-Ojodu road. Though the contract for the rehabilitation of the road was awarded by the Amosun administration, the project was abandoned and there was much public anticipation that the Abiodun administration would continue where his predecessor stopped. To the admiration of the residents, during his first term, the governor promised extensive rehabilitation of the road, and it actually took off, but was abruptly abandoned mid-way, thereby worsening the situation.

Not only is the road currently in a serious state of disrepair, the overhead bridge at Ijoko, which forms part of the project, has begun to collapse due to the activities of heavy duty trucks and articulated vehicles used by contractors working on the railway project, while other overhead bridges have been turned to dumpsites.

Some political analysts said that Abiodun was lucky to have returned to the state’s number seat in the face of stiff opposition from within and outside his party, but noted that so far, his administration has performed below expectation, as he appears to be faltering in his approach to governance.

Currently, the abysmal state of Abeokuta township roads has practically made life difficult for motorists and other road users within the state capital.

To many, within and outside the state, Ogun State has never had it so bad in recent years in terms of road network. While those considered as Federal Government roads in the state have been neglected for years and currently in decrepit states, residents, especially motorists are angry that roads within the seat of power have become death traps to the users.

The Guardian learnt that roads in popular areas like Adigbe-Opako, Moore-Obantoko, Ojere-Alagada, Ago-Odo-Itaka, Rounder-Soyoye-Lafenwa, among others, have become eyesores in a
It was gathered that due to the dilemma of the residents, motorists and other road users have been praying and crying in silence for a miracle to get the roads fixed within the shortest possible time but no solution in sight till now.

Although the Adigbe-Opako, Ojere-Alagada, Ago-Odo and Moore-Obantoko roads have fast degenerated, especially due to erosion, The Guardian observed that the Rounder-Soyoye-Lafenwa axis was the worst hit, considering its location and the vehicular traffic on the route on a daily basis.

The state government promised to fix the roads when the rains subside, but after several months of helplessness, the residents were forced to resort to self-help that made the road manageable for now.

A political analyst in the state, Derin Oluwole, who expressed sadness that the pace of infrastructural development in the state has been grounded to a halt since the governor’s return to office, regretted that the councils are the worst hit.

“Aside from the issue of inaccessible roads across the state, there are no functional street lights in Ogun State. The streetlights at the Abeokuta-Sagamu expressway, which is the gateway to the state, are not working. Reports have it that the generating sets installed to power the streetlights had been removed by the government itself due to untenable security reasons.

“People expect a 21st century government to have installed solar panel lights in the first place instead of wasting tax payers’ money to purchase generators, which didn’t even last,” he said.

Oluwole stressed that the state transport system policy has been mainly in theory.
He added: “There is no concrete or working transport system. The CNG buses are few; unfortunately some of them are not even functioning well contrary to the media hype given the initiative.

“The distribution of transformers was covered and politicised. No adequate figures or data of distributions so far were made public. Many schools are still in bad conditions across the state despite the governor’s Yellow Roof Policy.

“The work on his much talked about fibre optic cables for IT and internet development had stopped. The internet facility is yet to work. The plan to build Tech hubs across the three Senatorial Districts has not materialised.

“The Ogun State Public Work Agency (OPWA) is not functioning to capacity due to lack of adequate funding. The agency has only turned out to be a road patching and filling agency. If this is well funded and well positioned, it will aid public works and assist in road construction, even if not on a larger scale.”

A chieftain of the ruling party in the state, who doesn’t want his name mentioned, said the governor has let some of the party members down in his approach to governance.

He added that the narrow escape the governor had during the last election should have served as a lesson to him on the need to make his impact felt by the people of the state.

“We had expected that he would complete some of the projects left uncompleted by his predecessor, Amosun, considering that they are from the same party, but to our surprise, these projects have been left untouched since the governor assumed office, just as the government abruptly stopped contractors working on others.

“Prominent among the projects, which are basically road projects, which are within Abeokuta area, include the Kuto, Ajitadun-Elega bridges, Ilaro-Owode Road, Aiyetoro -Lafenwa Road and Adigbe-Panseke road, among others.

“Now that the legal fireworks are over, we are appealing to him to do the needful and make Ogun State great among the comity of states. The residents are tired of his inactions; even the party members are groaning in silence. It’s time to wake up and make the confidence the electorate have in him to count,” the source said.