Residents of the Egbado community area of Ogun State have raised concerns over how the parlous state infrastructure has increased the cost of businesses and slowed down the pace of development in the community.

According to the residents, the deplorable state of the road has seen many businesses closed shops as motorists and commuters have stopped plying the route to avoid the high cost of maintaining their vehicles.

One of the residents and General Overseer, Genesis Global, Prophet Israel Ogundipe, said he has been spending not less than N3.5 million yearly over the past 12 years on palliatives to make the road motorable for residents and businesses.

In his words: “The road has been like this before I came into the community and it has been like this for over 40 years. We have been complaining to make it happen, but it has been falling on deaf ears. Genesis Global has been grading this road for over 12 years and we spend not less than N3.5 million every year to embark on this project.”

He, however, called on the Governor, Ogun State Government, Dapo Abiodun, to come to their aid, noting that the situation is unbearable for residents in the community.

“We are calling on the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to come to our aid. We have tried on our own to address the situation, but it is high time for the government to come and assist us. We are passionately begging and not reacting. This road is under Ifo Local Government, we have lots of business and people depending on this particular road.

“We wrote to the former Governor about the situation and we are still going to write to the present. We know he is busy, but we are calling on his attention to come and see for himself what is going on here,” he said.

He added: “We have been grading this road every year since my church moved in here. The state of roads have been leading to so many businesses closing down in the area, the rising cost of doing business, high cost of maintaining the few vehicles plying the road and making buses to avoid the road.”

Another resident, Abraham Folorunsho, stated that some of the projects to salvage the situation were carried out by community efforts, saying that the developmental impact of the State government is yet to be felt by the community.

He said the Egbado road is an important road that connects Lagos and Ogun State, lauding the Lagos State government for fixing some parts of the road in the environs, but said the Ogun State government is yet to fulfill its own part of the bargain.

“We pay tenement rates, we vote as responsible citizens, but they are yet to fulfil their promises. We are begging the government to as a matter of urgent come to our aid. We are the ones fixing electricity and roads. We cannot continue. If not for the intervention of the General Overseer, we could have found ourselves in a lot deeper situation,” he added.