By Reporters
Stakeholders in Ondo State, including National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), have commended the Federal Government for allocating N15 billion for dualisation of Benin-Akure-Ilesa road in the 2025 budget.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Akure on Wednesday, the stakeholders, however, emphasised the need for political will on the part of government to actualise the project.
Prof. Abraham Oladebeye, Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, said that there was nothing special about the allocation of the amount for the road project in the budget.
According to Oladebeye what is rather important is the political will to execute the project covering a total of 150.7 kilometers.
He expressed the fears that the allocation in the 2025 appropriation bill might be a mere estimate that might not be implemented if not followed with the necessary political will.
“That it is in the budget does not mean anything. Budget is a proposal and estimate of expenditure, but we are talking about implementation.
“Many times, Akure/Ado Road project was captured in Nigeria’s previous budgets without implementation. It is another thing for an item captured in the budget to be funded,” he said.
However, Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, Mr Ademola Odudu, commended the Federal Government for considering the road in the 2025 budget estimate.
Odudu said that President Bola Tinubu had started fulfilling his campaign promises to Nigerians in spite of the challenges he met when he assumed office.
He said that the dualisation of the road was long overdue, considering the volume of vehicles on the corridor on a daily basis.
“We believe in the ability of Mr President. Once he said that he would dualise it, he is going to do it. We believe that when the budget is passed, work will commence there.
“The way of his governance is different, for good. Like he did in Lagos, he is doing now. That is why you see Lagos continuing to develop because he has laid a good foundation,” he said.
The NURTW chairman added that if the project was completed, there would be drastic reduction in the rate of road mishaps on the axis.
Odudu appealed to the governors and lawmakers from Edo, Ondo and Osun states as well as adjoining states to use their influence to ensure that the project was executed and completed.
Also reacting, an electrical engineer, Mr Payne Williams, described the road project as a welcome development, stating that the road had been long overdue for dualisation, considering the high rate of fatality on the corridor.
According to Williams, it will serve as another major road axis linking the South-West to the South-South and the South-East.
Also, Mr Taiwo Fakorede, a structural engineer, implored the federal government to make the road one of its priority projects, saying it should not be abandoned midway.
Fakorede recalled that past administrations had promised to take the dualisation to Benin from Ilesha without fulfilling it.
He praised the president for keeping to his campaign promises in revamping infrastructure across the country.
Similarly, Mr Alo Martins, Executive Director of Upline Centre for Development (UCD), said that dualising the road would be a landmark project, if executed.
Martins, who said his organisation monitors constituency projects in state, advised government not to only consider the road in the budget, but facilitate its completion on schedule.
He also appealed to the federal government to revisit the rehabilitation of the road from Ibadan to Ilesha, like it was done from Lagos to Ibadan.
Mr Niyi Adesokan, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Okitipupa Chapter, also commended Tinubu for considering the dualisation of the road.
“I think the project is a welcome development, though long overdue.
“We commend President Tinubu on this. It will reduce the loss of lives and property because of fatal accidents on the narrow highway,” he said.
Also, Mr Omololu Bagbe, a former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okitipupa Chapter, commended the president, saying that the dualisation would further open the state economy and bring more business opportunities.
“The proposed infrastructural development will bring more businesses to our state and solve some of the unemployment problems of our youths,” he said.
Bagbe, however, called for proper supervision of the project by the Federal Ministry of Works when eventually to ensure quality job. (NAN)
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