Afe Babalola Urges Tinubu To Inspect Deplorable Ekiti Federal Road
Founder and Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to personally inspect the deplorable condition of the Ado-Ijan-Ilumoba-Ikole federal road in Ekiti State.
Babalola made the appeal in an open letter titled, “An Appeal to the Federal Government to Revisit the Road Leading to Afe Babalola University and an Open Letter of Appreciation to Senator Babafemi Ojudu.”
The elder statesman said a personal assessment of the road by the President would enable him to appreciate its deteriorating condition, describing portions of the route as largely impassable.
According to him, the road has suffered years of neglect despite serving several important institutions and facilities in Ekiti State.
Babalola disclosed that ABUAD had, between 2010 and 2019, spent billions of naira as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts to repair and maintain sections of the road, including the old Ureje Bridge.
He explained that the university intervened because of the strategic importance of the road to ABUAD, neighbouring communities and other institutions along the route.
The federal road provides access to ABUAD, the university’s Multi-System Hospital, the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, the Ado-Ekiti campus of the National Open University of Nigeria, a Federal Government-owned silo and the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport.
Babalola also recalled that residents had welcomed the award of a rehabilitation contract to a local contractor in 2019. He, however, said the project was later abandoned after the contractor left the road in an even worse condition.
The legal luminary expressed concern that repeated representations to successive Federal Government administrations and relevant agencies had not yielded the desired result.
He therefore urged President Tinubu to visit the road personally, saying such a visit would provide the President with a clearer picture of the hardship caused by its poor condition.
Babalola also called on Ekiti indigenes, particularly professors, opinion leaders and other influential stakeholders, to join the campaign for the rehabilitation of federal roads across the state.
He commended Senator Babafemi Ojudu for consistently drawing attention to the poor state of federal roads in Ekiti, especially the road leading to ABUAD.
According to Babalola, Ojudu’s advocacy has strengthened the longstanding call for urgent intervention despite repeated appeals to different administrations.
He further argued that Ekiti State’s economic development was being constrained by inadequate road and transportation infrastructure, noting that the state remained disadvantaged because of limited connectivity with other parts of the country.
Babalola urged the Federal Government to prioritise the rehabilitation of major federal roads linking Ekiti with other states, stressing that improved road infrastructure would support economic activities and enhance access to key institutions and facilities.
He said the road leading to ABUAD deserved particular attention because of the strategic institutions located along the route, including the university and its 400-bed Multi-System Hospital.
The ABUAD founder reiterated that rehabilitating the road was achievable if the Federal Government gave the project the necessary priority.
He called on Ekiti residents to support the campaign, stressing that the state’s roads must be made motorable for residents, businesses and institutions to thrive.
