Osun Monarch Begs Fashola to Reconstruct Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo Road

By Femi Ogbonnikan in Abeokuta

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has appealed to the Minister for Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to reconstruct the road that links Ibadan, Iwo and Osogbo.

Oba Akanbi made the appeal in his palace yesterday, while commemorating the Sallah festivity.

He decried the pains the road users pass through on a daily basis, along the road, due to some pot holes that dotted the highway at dangerous sections.

The monarch noted that the federal road is strategic to commercial activities between the people of his Osun State and Oyo State and urged the minister to consider it for rehabilitation.

While making a veiled reference to the prompt attention given to the Jebba-Mokwa road recently, Oba Akanbi said government should not wait till the road is deserted by travellers before it is fixed, adding that his regular palliative measure since 2016, especially at the Ejioku axis, is not borne out of the size of his pocket but with genuine concerns about the effect of the bad road on the economy of the two states.

“Transporting goods from the farms, for instance, is difficult with its attendant effects on prices of finished products. To discourage our youths from taking to criminalities, we need to put our infrastructural facilities in place. In addition, the poor state of the road has claimed many innocent lives. Just yesterday, I rescued accident victims whose lives I pray God should spare,” he said.

He applauded President Muhammed Buhari and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for their response to fix failed road across the country and requested them to add Iwo-Ibadan road to the priority list in order to save helpless users from more suffering.

“As a concerned first class natural paramount ruler, the bitter experience of the populace on the road challenged me to mobilise resources to ensure the road is not cut off the two states as some portions are not motorable again. I am positive that the government would respond accordingly in due course,” he added.