Assembly Speaker sends SoS to Buhari over abandoned Oyo-Ogbomoso highway

Oyo State House of Assembly Speaker Joshua Ojo, on Sunday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to expedite action on the completion of the Oyo-Ogbomoso dual carriage highway.

Ojo, representing Oriire state constituency in the Assembly, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on the sideline of the just-concluded 2018 Conference of Speakers of the State Legislatures of Nigeria.

NAN reports that the conference held its 2018 Second Quarter Conference from Friday to Sunday in Ikeja, Lagos.

“The old road has become a death trap; so many lives have been lost unnecessarily, due to the poor condition of the road. The wastage must stopped.

“Not long ago, some school principals lost their lives on the same old road while going for a conference in Oyo. It is very pathetic. The carnage on this old road weekly is alarming.

“We plead with President Muhammadu Buhari to look at the agonies and pains so many Nigerians are passing through on that corridor and come to our aid.

“We want the Federal Government to expedite action and make sure the road is completed without delay. We urge President Buhari to declare a state of emergency on this highway.

“We want construction work on this road resuscitated and expedited to end all carnage the old road had caused so many homes and families.”

According to him, the pains suffered by the people occasioned the peaceful protest residents staged a few days ago on the road, where people were calling for the completion of the dual carriage highway.

The speaker, who commended members of the National Assembly from the state for doing their best, urged them not to relent in the quest for the completion of the critical highway.

NAN recalls that the Oyo-Ogbomoso part of the Ibadan-Ilorin dual carriage highway which commenced during the first term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo has yet to be completed.

Hundreds of residents in Ogbomoso area of Oyo State on Thursday prevented vehicular movement on the busy Ogbomoso-Oyo-Ilorin road to protest the non-completion of the road 18 years after the construction started.

The Ogbomoso-Ilorin road serves as a link between the South-West and northern parts of the country.