The Ekiti State Government has signed a Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA) for enrollment in the Scale-Up phase of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), which will cost a sum of $600 million for the construction of additional rural roads that will aid food production in the State.

The project has been co-financed by the World Bank, French Development Bank (AFD) and the participating States through the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Speaking at the 9th Implementation Support Mission of the Project on Friday in Ado-Ekiti, the National Coordinator of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), Engr Aminu Bodinga Mohammed, said all the 36 States and the FCT are expected to participate in the Scale-Up based on their ability to meet the requirements for enlistment.

Mohammed stated that Ekiti State is among the few states which have fulfilled the requirements for the Scale-Up, noting that only Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi and Sokoto states have successfully operationalised the Road Sector Reforms, culminating in the establishment of the Rural Access Roads Agency (RARA) and State Roads Fund (SRF), which are critical components of the project.

The National Coordinator said the scale-up project is a sequel to the successes recorded by the benefitting states, all of which have accessed a total of $488 million out of the $575 million originally set aside for the project.

Mohammed stated that a total of 801.96km of rural roads would have been completed under the RAAMP initiative by April 2026, adding that 273.33km have already been completed, while 528.63km have been projected for completion based on their current stage of completion.

“When the project started, disbursement was the problem; later, it was procurement, but today, with the help of the World Bank and the French Development Bank, we have been able to surmount these challenges and are making progress.

“I am happy to inform you that another $500 million has been secured from the World Bank for the Scale-Up. This is a result of our collective efforts. We have put in place machinery to ensure the sustainability of the project with the establishment of State Roads Fund (SRF) and Rural Access Road Authority (RARA). All the 36 States and FCT will be participating in the Scale-Up”, he said.

Assessing the performances of the participating states, the national coordinator noted that out of the last 6 States comprising Ekiti, Niger, Osun, Ebonyi, Gombe and Kaduna, Ekiti is second in terms of payment of counterpart fund as the State Government under Oyebanji has provided sufficient matching funds for the project to sail through.

In his welcome remarks, the World Bank’s Task Team Lead (TTL) Rakesh Tripathi disclosed that the bank and the participating states, through the federal government, would fund the $600 million Scale Up programme.

Tripathi, who commended the states for redoubling their efforts in the last six months, admitted that the rains might have slowed down the pace of construction works but urged all participating states to ensure that “contract performance” is in tandem with “civil work performance”.

He, however, charged all participating states to ensure that at least 90 per cent of all previously awarded roads are completed within the next six months.

Responding to the inclusion of Ekiti State in the Scale-Up, the State Project Coordinator, Sunday Adunmo, said this represented a renewed hope for Ekiti communities whose rural roads have been pencilled down for construction by the state government.

Adunmo, who described the Scale-Up as a game changer for Ekiti State, said this would enhance economic opportunities through increased market access by providing more rural roads.

He added that Ekiti RAAMP has delivered 50km of asphalted road out of 132km, which was awarded when the project took off in the state.