17 years after, government restarts N6b Oyo-Ogbomoso Road project

Seventeen years after the former President Olusegun Obasanjo initiated the project, government has kicked off construction of N6 billion Oyo-Ogbomoso Road, a part of the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway.

Kicking off the road project yesterday, Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), expressed government’s commitment to ensuring speedy completion.

Fashola, who was represented by the Controller of Works, Federal Ministry of Works in Oyo State, Mr. Anya Omorekpe, said government would prevail on contractors handling the project to do a quality job.

In his remarks, Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Kabiru Gaya, said the project was a cardinal point in the agenda of President Buhari-led government, which would be completed in the next three years‎.

Also at the event, which took place at the boundary between Oyo and Ogbomoso, Governor Abiola Ajimobi said road infrastructure was major contributor to economic development as it would ensure smooth transportation of goods, thereby aiding trade and commerce.

The construction of Ibadan-Ilorin road project, which was divided into three sections – Ibadan-Oyo, Oyi-Ogbomoso and Ogbomoso-Ilorin – was initiated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.

While Ibadan-Oyo as well as Ogbomoso-Ilorin had since been completed, the 52-kilometre Oyo-Ogbomoso road was abandoned.