Residents of Ogbomoso community in Oyo state held a peaceful protest and barricaded the Ogbomoso-Oyo road today in demand for the prompt completion of the new express road.
insideOYO.com gathered that the road which links Oyo state to Kwara State was blocked early hour this morning.
Reports say hundreds of residents gathered at Taki Square with carrying placards and banners with various inscriptions such.
National Insight reports that socio cultural organizations, religious, Igbo Community, Hausa Community and others interest groups were part of the protest.
See photos:
One of the organizers of the protest, Rev Israel Olaniyan, while appealing to the federal government to expedite action on the abandoned road, urged it to declare a state of emergency on the Ogbomoso-Oyo road and ensure that the road is completed latest by August 1st this year.
He said, “We indigenes and inhabitants of Ogbomosoland do hereby appeal to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, to expedite action on the construction of the Ogbomoso-Oyo part of the Ibadan-Ilorin road.
“We appeal to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), to as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on the Ogbomoso-Oyo road and ensure the road is completed by August 1st 2018.”
Mr Olaniyan added “The construction of the dual carriage highway which started 18 years ago has left the Ilorin-Ogbomoso and Oyo-Ibadan portion in a particularly deplorable condition while the Ogbomoso-Oyo axis of the express road is yet to be started. The situation has left no option for commuters than to continue to use the old Ogbomoso-Oyo road which is a one lane road plied by vehicles of all sizes, going to and from the Northern Nigeria.
“Statistics at our disposal indicates that an average of 15 persons die on the road per week. In a year, it indicates that an average of 780 persons is lost on this road. Multiplied by 18 years since the road was awarded, it shows that an average of 14, 040 persons have lost their lives on Ogbomoso-Oyo road. This is alarming and calls for urgent completion of the express road under construction.”
