Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun at the weekend inspected ongoing road construction projects in Ogun East senatorial district as part of the Urban Regeneration Scheme of his administration.
Abiodun said his administration has succeeded in rewriting Ogun’s developmental stride, which he said must be sustained.
He noted that his administration is building a dry port to further open up the state for more investment opportunities, in addition to the over 4,000 affordable houses that have been built for medium and upper-income earners in Abeokuta, Ilaro, Sagamu, Iperu, Ijebu-Ode, and Ota.
He also said that plans have been concluded to extend the Blue Rail Line from Agbado to Kajola, just as the Red Line would be extended from Okokomaiko in Lagos to Agbara in Ogun State.
He said, “We have built over 4,000, going to 5,000 affordable houses for medium and upper-income earners across the state. In Ilaro, they are eager for me to come and commission those houses. We have them in Iperu, Sagamu, and two in Abeokuta.
“We started our Urban Regeneration at the GRA in Abeokuta and began building the PMB estate also in Abeokuta. You can feel my excitement today because I can look at all that and even see the clips from the airport where the conveyor belts, metal detectors, and luggage scanners have started working, and I said to myself, ‘Something new has happened in Ogun State,’ and this needs to be sustained.”
He said 11 roads that have economic impact on the lives of the people have been identified and awarded for reconstruction across the state, assuring that fairness, equity, and inclusivity would be adhered to when distributing projects.
Governor Abiodun, who acknowledged the inability of his administration to reconstruct all the roads in the state said, “There are many roads we would like to do, but the truth is that no administration can reconstruct all the required roads in eight years; it’s impossible.
“However, that much we have done is much less than needs to be done. So we are very thankful that we have achieved this feat. I think I can beat my chest and say we have probably constructed more roads than two administrations combined together.”
Speaking at Ode-Remo, he disclosed that the contract for the construction of the 12-kilometre Akaka-Ilara-Ilisan road has been awarded, just as the construction of the Ode-Isara road would commence soon.
Inspecting the 15-kilometre Sagamu-Iperu-Ode-Sapaade road, Governor Abiodun described it as an arterial route that serves as a bypass to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, adding that it was divided into three phases and changed from a single to dual carriageway due to the cooperation of the people who pulled down their structures to give way for the road.
Governor Abiodun also inspected the 14-kilometre Sagamu-Ayepe road in Sagamu Local Government Area, where he informed that the first phase of 14 kilometres is being done in the area with a large population.
He assured that all the important roads with economic value in Sagamu would be constructed before the end of his administration.
Abiodun, who inspected the Igbeba Junction-Yidi road, lauded the quality of work done on the road, noting that the three-feet drainage done on the road would ensure free flow of water during the rainy season.
The governor referred to the state of the road before reconstruction as a “swimming pool,” saying that engineers from the state have proffered solutions to the perennial erosion that affects the city, adding that erosion would be a thing of the past before the end of his administration.
He appreciated the people for giving him the opportunity to administer the state, assuring that education, agriculture, youth empowerment, job creation, infrastructure, and other sectors would continue to receive the needed attention.