Mrs Mary Adeniran, the South-West Zonal Coordinator of Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA),
has blamed the deplorable condition of Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomoso highway on the twin factors of inadequate funds and the current rainy season.
The FERMA Zonal Coordinator said the failed sections of the road were, however, being rehabilitated either through contract or direct labour.
“Now the Ibadan-Oyo section which is about 44.5km is dualised and we observed that we have some very bad portions on the road.
“Recently, FERMA has been busy on that road trying at every instance to intervene either by way of contract or direct labour.
In recent times, we made some interventions at some particular spots.
“Although the effort of maintenance is a continuous thing because of the deplorable state of the road and the fact that sometimes the provision we have may not be adequate to meet up with the rate of deterioration, we still have some portions that constantly give road users headache.
“But I can assure you that as an agency we have taken note of all the locations that have failed and we have a comprehensive proposal for the entire road, particularly between Ibadan and Oyo and we are just waiting for the procurement under 2018 appropriation to be concluded,” she told newsmen on Tuesday in Ibadan.
Adeniran, however, assured Nigerians that the government was on top of the situation, adding “very soon, users of the road will experience a relief on that corridor.”
She said both FERMA and the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing were working hard to ensure that the road was motorable.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that travelers have been experiencing long hours of traffic hiccups and long queues of articulated vehicles as a result of the failed portions.
Adeniran promised that as soon as the rains subsided the agency would intervene on the various roads across the country.
“And this is going to coincide with the awards of contracts for maintenance under the 2018 budgetary approval. But apart from that we have reliable information that the Federal Ministry of Works has concluded plans to reconstruct the road.”
On the Oyo-Ogbomoso section which is currently a single carriageway, the FERMA official said funds had been appropriated for the project in 2018 budget.
“There is provision for it this year, so work on that dual carriageway is in progress but for the single carriageway that is being used which is the old alignment, the ministry is also intervening directly.
“The ministry has taken care of some of the critical sections that we have such as Toshe, Aba Ado areas and also Dangote area.
“These are the areas that have experienced a total collapse this last raining season and contractors in charge of the ongoing dualised section are also being used by the federal ministry of works to intervene in those particular sections.
“Very soon, users along that axis will experience a great relief as government is very much aware of the importance of the road to the economy and the lives of Nigerians,” Adeniran said.
Commenting on the early deterioration of Ibadan-Oyo roads in the last six years, the FERMA Coordinator said the damage was not as as a result poor quality job.
She called for the introduction of weigh bridges to check overloading by trucks and toll bridges to raise funds for maintenance of roads.
