Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has started clearing bushes and overgrown trees along popular Geri Alimi-Offa Garage road in the Ilorin metropolis, under ‘Operation Safeguard the Roads’, to address cases of crime and insecurity in the area.

The FERMA state coordinator, Engineer Onimago Lukman told journalists in Ilorin during road maintenance work on the road on Tuesday, that the operation is an annual programme of the agency to provide safe and motorable roads for motorists.

“We engaged youth for one month, after giving them orientation, training on basic techniques of road maintenance, in the scope of vegetation control, desilting of blocked drainages, because this is rainy season and water is the greatest enemy to our road. We want water to be out of our roads. Also, we do minor patching of our carriageway,” he stated.

Onimago, who urged corporate bodies and individuals to see road maintenance as their social responsibility, said: “organisations should keep the roundabout green at all times”.

While inspecting the ongoing patch work on three kilometers Geri Alimi-Offa Garage road, the FERMA boss, who said that the road was hitherto in bad condition added: “It was filled with isolated pot holes and failed sections. So, the agency embarked on direct labour to make it motorable”.

According to Onimago, the government will look into providing solar lights on the road, “especially with the situation we find ourselves in the country now, talking about the security challenge.

“Presently, we are rehabilitating the Tsaragi-Lafiagi road. We have a section of that road that we are working on. That particular section has been bad for around 15 years. And during the rainy season, motorists often find it difficult to ply that particular section. So FERMA, as we speak today, will reinstate that particular section,” he assured.

Onimago, who sought more funding for the agency, said that: “It is our hope that the agency will get more funding because what we have as an agency is not enough to face the challenges of our roads. We hope that government will be magnanimous enough to provide adequate funds for the agency”.

Residents commended the FEMA for the efforts done to make the place safe and beautiful.

Kunle Lawal, a staff of the state revenue agency said: “We once killed snakes here. This area was very, very busy and very dangerous at night. So, we really appreciate. Now, we have peace of mind now.”

The people appealed to federal government for solar street lights on the carriage way to address darkness at night, disclosing that: “for instance, people that cleared the bushes at the state Metropolitan Square said they saw four male corpses and that of one lady”.