The Oyo State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Alhaji Yunus Akintunde, on Tuesday assured the people of the state that some of the roads and bridges currently undergoing reconstruction would be completed in due course.
It would be recalled that no fewer than 58 roads and eight bridges are currently undergoing reconstruction across the state, while a flyover bridge is also being constructed at the popular Mokola Roundabout, Ibadan to ease the traffic snarl in the area.
The commissioner told newsmen after inspecting some roads and bridges in Ibadan, the state capital, that the contracts for the roads and bridges were awarded in phases, adding that those that fell into the first and second phases would be fully completed while work would also be intensified on those under the remaining three phases.
“The government has judiciously utilised the people’s money for their benefits. Governor Abiola Ajimobi wants the people of Oyo State to know him for his commitment to health, security, roads and other infrastructure. Indeed, he has scored more than 90 per cent on these three aspects,” he said.
Akintunde also disclosed that the contract for the reconstruction of the Alakia interchange road and flyover had been awarded by the state government, adding that work would soon commence on the project.
He urged members of the communities benefiting from the roads and bridges to desist from damaging the roads for whatever reason.
“It is a crime to humanity; it is a crime to the community and to the government; the government is spending a lot of money on the construction of roads. So the people should make good use of the roads,” he said.
The commissioner, who emphasised that no government official had taken any money from any contractor, called on the people of the state to promptly inform government if they noticed any misdeed on the part of the contractors handling the various projects.
The inspection took the commissioner and his entourage to Papa-Akanle-Olosan Road in Alakia; Wakajaiye Road; Ajibode-Alphonso-Shasha Road and Ajibode-Apete Road, all within Ibadan metropolis.
Some of the residents of the areas visited commended Ajimobi for his commitment to infrastructural transformation of the state.
At Olosan, Deacon Adeleke Olufemi, Chairman, Landlord Association, and Chief Isiaka Salami lauded the governor for remembering their road and bridges, which had been impassable for several years.
The contractor handling the four-kilometre Ajibode-Alphonso-Shasha Road, Engr. Toyin Bello, assured the commissioner that the road, awarded at the cost of N177 million, would be completed within the next three months.
The commissioner also expressed satisfaction with the level of work done so far by the contractors handling the projects.