Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari, for sanctioning the construction of the abandoned Oyo-Ogbomoso end of the Ibadan-Ilorin expressway.

The Oyo-Ogbomoso axis of the road project, which spans Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomoso-Ilorin, was said to have been overlooked for more than thirty-six years by six successive federal administrations.


Ajimobi, who led dignitaries to the flag-off of the reactivated road contract, in Oyo, on Monday, said that the state owed the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government a load of gratitude for revisiting the project.

Describing good road network as an important prerequisite for a buoyant economy, the governor admonished the contractor, Reynolds Construction Company, to speed up work on the project to give the road users a breath of fresh air.

Ajimobi said, “On behalf of the good people of Oyo State I appreciate God, the APC and our senators for this hope they have ignited in us through the resuscitation of this project.

“We believe that the contractor will work day and night to deliver a standard job in good time. This road project was mooted over thirty-six years ago and we have had six federal administrations that failed to complete it.

“We must give profound gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari and especially God for letting this happen in our lifetime, knowing full well that good road network is a prerequisite for buoyant economy.

“Lessons derived from this is that we should always choose our representatives based on integrity, Godliness, patriotism and selflessness, which are attributes exhibited by our Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, representing Oyo Central at the Senate, as well as other legislators that partook in the revival of this project.”

In his address, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Kabiru Gaya, said that the project was a cardinal project for the Buhari administration.

He implored the contractor to speed up work on the project, with emphasis on quality delivery.
He deplored what he called a shoddy job done by one of the contractors that handled a section of the three-section road, which, he said was now in a bad condition.

He said, “We all know that bad roads is a major cause of accidents, leading to loss of lives and properties and the present government will not tolerate shoddy jobs.

“I, therefore, enjoin the contractor handling this road to do a good job different from what was done on a section of this road. It is imperative to inform you that President Buhari has this road as a cardinal project.”

The representative of RCC, Mr. Nader Yusuf, assured the governor and the senate team that the project would be completed with best quality.