Aregbesola decries condition of federal roads in Osun

Osun state government has appealed to the federal government to give more attention to the construction and rehabilitation of Federal roads, which are in shambles in the state.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola made the plea while playing host to the Chairman and members of House of Representatives Committee on Works who were on a courtesy call in Osogbo.
Aregbesola expressed dissatisfaction with the situation of federal roads in the state, which he said were apparently abandoned in terms of road construction and rehabilitation.
The Governor mentioned specifically the road linking Osun with Ekiti Road on the Ilesa axis; Osogbo-Ilobu Road on Ogbomosho axis and Osogbo-Iwo Road on Ibadan axis among several other federal roads that are seriously begging for urgent attention.
Identifying overstretching of roads as one of the factors responsible for their collapse in Nigeria, the governor called for effective rail system to complement road transport to ensure durability of roads, saying effective and efficient rail service will give Nigerians a good value for their money.
While emphasizing the importance of the Legislature in governance, Aregbesola stated that the performance of any government is a function of efficiency and effectiveness of the parliament.
The governor, who stressed that the oversight function of Legislature is important in putting government on its toes, appealed to the House Committee on works to ensure adequate and effective implementation of budget particularly the ones meant for roads and other infrastructural development.
Earlier, Chairman House Committee on Works and Transport, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozongbachi, disclosed that the committee’s mission to the State of Osun was to inspect federal road projects, saying that the committee had earlier visited Lagos, Ogun and Oyo before coming to Osun.
The chairman explained that the National Assembly has the capacity to critically assess the quality of works done particularly by states on behalf of the Federal Government.
The federal lawmaker counselled the state to obtain approval before embarking on intervention of federal roads so as to facilitate easy and quick reimbursement, stressing that states should also forward their claims on time so as to fast track repayment of such work done.
The law maker representing Atakumosa Ijesa South Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Ajibola Famurewa, was among the committee members on the courtesy call.