Lawyers, others protest against bad Ota roads

Concerned members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ota branch, Ogun State and some residents have condemned the deplorable state of the roads within the town. The group, in a peaceful protest around major areas in Ota yesterday gave the state and Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to take decisive action on fixing the roads or face a nationwide protest.

The group displayed placards with various inscriptions such as: ‘Ota roads begging for government attention’; ‘Ota roads, hell on earth’; ‘Fashola, enough of this deceit, fix our roads now’; ‘Dapo Abiodun, will you allow bad roads to continue to kill Ogun people?; ‘Economic activities in ruins in Ota because of bad roads’ among others.

Chairman, Ota chapter of NBA, Ogba Issac, said: “We the people of Ota, Ifo, Ijoko, Agbado, Atan, Lafenwa, Agbara, and others have suffered more than enough. This axis has more industries than the states of Ekiti, Osun, Ondo, and Edo put together, yet we are being neglected. This is where the internal revenue of the state is generated from, but why are we being made to suffer this unjust hardship.

“People are dying every day. Go to many companies here, they have folded up. The cost of production is increasing every day, the goods produced cannot be transported anywhere. The government knows what is happening. They will come to campaign and fail us once they get into office.”

Some residents and businessmen have also decried the untold hardship imposed on them by the deplorable condition of the all-important Obasanjo-Ijagba road, among other networks that links Lagos with the gateway state. The residents are seeking urgent intervention on major roads linking Lagos to Ota such as the Ayobo-Lafenwa road, Lafenwa-Itele road, Obasanjo-Ijagba road and Agbara-Atan road among others.

A community leader, Seye Akinleye, said the roads are very critical to business survival in the state, adding that the Ota area of Ogun is currently experiencing massive migration and therefore needs massive infrastructure development.

The Obasanjo-Ijagba Road Maintenance Committee in a letter to the governor, appealed for swift intervention to rescue over 7,000 industries in Ota Industrial Estate and those at Agbara Industrial hub. The letter dated July 15, 2019, and signed by 15 representatives of different communities, stated: “the road is crucial to reducing the life-threatening gridlock on the toll-gate axis of Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, as about 60 per cent of the road users would exploit the alternative routes.

“Obasanjo Ijagba road is a link between Idiroko Expressway and Lafenwa-Itele Road, which is a direct link to Ayobo, Ipaja, Igando, Egbeda, Ikotun, Isheri, Ojo in Lagos.