Residents Seek Urgent Rehabilitation Of Collapsing Iseyin-Abeokuta Road
Farmers, truck drivers and other road users in Iseyin, Oyo State, have called for urgent intervention on the deteriorating Iseyin-Abeokuta federal highway, warning that the condition of the road is causing significant economic losses.
The call followed an inspection of a severely damaged section of the road at Oja-Agbe, Iseyin, on Wednesday.
The inspection was led by the President of Ebedi Frontliners, Iseyin, Segun Adeleke, who said the road had suffered prolonged neglect despite its importance to several agrarian communities across Oyo and Ogun states.
According to Adeleke, the road was last reconstructed during the first term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
He said the worsening condition of the highway had made the transportation of farm produce increasingly difficult, with several farmers recording losses as trucks and trailers became stuck on the road or overturned at failed sections.
Adeleke appealed to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to visit the road and assess the extent of the deterioration, noting that the collapsed section at Oja-Agbe was not the only major problem along the route.
He also raised concerns over a collapsed bridge at Ado-Awaye and other deteriorated portions of the road extending towards Abeokuta in Ogun State.
“We have been too silent on the neglect of this road, which serves many agrarian communities from Iseyin towards Ibarapa area of Oyo State till Abeokuta in Ogun State,” Adeleke said.
He stressed that the poor state of the highway was affecting agricultural activities and the movement of goods, thereby putting the livelihoods of farmers and other road-dependent businesses at risk.
Also speaking during the inspection, the All Progressives Congress candidate for the Federal House of Representatives seat covering Iseyin, Itesiwaju, Kajola and Iwajowa, Saheed Alaran, assured residents that the Federal Government would give attention to the collapsed section.
Alaran commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for ongoing road construction and rehabilitation projects across the country, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
Meanwhile, the Allied People’s Movement candidate, Dasola Fadiran, and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Psaltry International Company, Yemisi Iranloye, called for the declaration of a “state of emergency” on the Iseyin-Abeokuta road.
They said urgent rehabilitation was necessary to prevent further losses of agricultural produce, manpower and revenue arising from the deteriorating condition of the highway.
The stakeholders urged the Federal Government to prioritise the road’s rehabilitation, stressing that restoring the route would improve connectivity between farming communities in Oyo State and markets in Ibarapa and Ogun State.
