Minister seeks urgent action on Akure-Ado highway, visits Fashola

By Temitope Adedeji, Akure 

Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, has urged the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to expedite action on the reconstruction of Akure-Ado Ekiti highway.

Adegoroye stated this while on a visit to Fashola in his office in Abuja.

Special Adviser to Adegoroye on Media, Ebenezer Adeniyan, in a statement on Monday, said the minister told Fashola that the people of Ondo and Ekiti states are experiencing pain while plying the road on daily basis.

Contract for the dualisation of the road was awarded to Dantata and Sawoe by the Federal Government in 2020 at the cost of N22 billion.

Fashola had disclosed in a recent interview that lack of funds had delayed the mobilisation of the contractor to the site for the project to commence.

However, Adegoroye, who was making his second visit to the works minister in one month, said the poor state of the road has necessitated an urgent action from the Federal Government.

He told Fashola that his people would not let him rest at home until work begins on the road, promising to keep visiting the minister once every week until the project takes off.

Adegoroye also said the Akure-Ado road reconstruction would be the major benefit of both Ondo and Ekiti states from the unprecedented 77 road projects embarked upon by the Muhammadu Buhari administration and currently ongoing across the country.

He praised Fashola for his hard work, forthrightness and determination in ensuring the growth of road infrastructure in the country.

Responding, Fashola reaffirmed his earlier comment that lack of funds had made it difficult for the government to begin the project, saying the road has not been abandoned.

Thanking Adegoroye for showing genuine concerns over the project, the works minister promised his colleague that he will do everything within his power to ensure that the project takes off in no distant time.

In a related development, Adegoroye also paid a visit to Mrs. Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, to seek her assistance for young school leavers of Ondo State origin who are desirous of getting employed in the federal civil service.

Responding, the Head of Service, who said she was impressed with the minister’s show of interest in his people’s welfare, stated that there is an embargo on employment but added that there could be a waiver in critical sectors of public service, promising to give special consideration to Ondo State when such opportunities come up.