Ondo mobilises contractors to Owo-Ikare roads

Ondo State government has mobilized contractors to Owo/Ikare roads following outcries over the deplorable state of the road.Prior to the intervention, road users plying the route had gone through hardship and nightmares, which in recent past had turned to flashpoints for armed robbers and kidnappers.

However, works had begun on the road following the intervention of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the State Executive Council (SEC).
The State Commissioner for Works, Taofeek Abdulsalam, confirmed that RCF Nigeria Limited had begun work in one of the deadliest parts of the road, revealing that the reconstruction work would span across 10 to 11 failed portions of the road. He said, “We want to see how we can do a permanent solution to those portions, that’s what we are trying to do.

The governor asked RCF to move to site immediately because these portions have become so bad and work has started for over a week now. They have started evacuating failed and are targeting December so that people can begin to enjoy it.

“The road is very important because it links people from the South West to the North. We had discussions with the Federal Government and they asked us to hold on. But we can’t hold on because our people are passing through those places everyday”.

On the rumour that the Ondo State Agency for Roads Maintenance and Construction (OSARMCO), has been disbanded, the commissioner said the agency would commence work soon. He noted that the agency is a creation of the law and only the state house of Assembly has the constitutional power to disband it.

“OSARMCO is doing palliatives, it is not meant to be constructing roads. What had been happening on those roads were palliatives but we are trying to put permanent solution to the failed portions.The challenges are more than what the agency can handle, that is why we have asked the company to assist. We have not given them money, but they are doing it based on the urgency”, he stated.