FG MOVES TO FIX FAILED EKITI ROADS AS MOTORISTS STRANDED ON IFAKI-OYE-KABBA HIGHWAY
Read Time:3 Minute, 53 Second
By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Federal Government has commenced emergency intervention on the deteriorating Ifaki-Oye-Kabba Road in Ekiti State following complaints by motorists and residents over the worsening condition of the highway.
The Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, announced the intervention on Tuesday during an inspection of federal roads in the state, including the Ifaki-Oye-Kabba and Efon-Iwaraja roads.
At a particularly bad section of the Ifaki-Oye-Kabba Road around Oye-Ekiti, several articulated vehicles had reportedly been stranded for days, with motorists lamenting the impact of the failed portion on their livelihoods and movement.
One of the stranded truck drivers, Quasm Abudu, said he had been stuck at the location for about three days, describing the experience as a major hardship that had also caused him to lose valuable opportunities.
A resident and road user, Bolade Olowo, described the situation as “traumatic and unpalatable”, saying the continued deterioration of the road was affecting socio-economic activities and creating security concerns.
“The continued deterioration of the road is crippling socio-economic activities. It has cut off communities in the local government and along the route. It also poses a serious security threat in the area,” Olowo said.
He appealed to President Bola Tinubu, Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency and other relevant authorities to urgently deploy resources to rehabilitate the highway.
Olowo said the route connects Ifaki, Oye, Ayegbaju, Ilupeju, Itapa and Osin-Ekiti and serves as an important link between communities in Oye Local Government and other parts of the country.
Speaking during the inspection, Goronyo said emergency palliative works had commenced to make the affected section passable and free the trucks that had been stranded.
He described the Ifaki-Oye-Kabba Road as a critical economic corridor linking the South-West with the northern part of Nigeria and said the Federal Government was committed to restoring the route within the shortest possible time.
According to the minister, the rehabilitation contract was awarded to Gamji in 2025 and the contractor had been mobilised but complained of inadequate funding.
“The contractor had been mobilised, but was complaining of inadequate funding. The Federal Government will review the funding arrangement and ensure that the contractor is adequately mobilised to return to site,” he said.
Goronyo added that the government had commenced immediate intervention through the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, with equipment and materials already deployed to the affected section.
He appealed to motorists to cooperate with the authorities while the palliative works were being carried out.
“We are deploying materials to this place and they should create a conducive atmosphere for the contractor to be able to do this work within 48 hours,” he said.
The minister also announced a temporary restriction on articulated vehicles using the route from the Ifaki end until the emergency intervention was completed.
“We are going to block the entrance from the Ifaki end to ensure that no articulated vehicles ply this road again until this project, I mean this palliative arrangement, is completed,” Goronyo said.
At the Efon-Iwaraja Road, Goronyo also inspected a failed section where motorists were reportedly forced to turn back because of a large ditch and use alternative routes.
He promised immediate remedial work on the affected portion, assuring residents and motorists that the Federal Government would not allow the federal road to remain impassable.
“I am assuring residents and motorists that the Federal Government would undertake immediate remedial work on the Efon-Iwaraja Road to restore access and ease the hardship being experienced by road users,” he said.
Goronyo said the interventions were part of President Tinubu’s broader directive to address critical road failures across the country and ensure the free flow of traffic.
He highlighted major ongoing road projects, including the approximately 1,068-kilometre Illela-Sokoto-Badagry Highway, the approximately 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road.
The minister described investment in road infrastructure as critical to economic development, saying functional roads were essential to security, employment, agriculture, healthcare and commerce.
“Roads lead to prosperity,” Goronyo said.
He further reiterated the administration’s determination to complete ongoing projects and use improved road infrastructure to stimulate commerce, industrial activity, employment and food security.
According to him, the Federal Government has intensified inspections and interventions across the country to address failed roads.
“For the past one week, the Minister of Works, David Umahi; myself; all the directors in the ministry, all the SAs and SSAs of Mr President; we have been crisscrossing the roads across the country. We have met a very difficult situation, and we are fixing it,” Goronyo said.
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