Road Construction: Kwara Involves 90% Local Contractors to Boost Economic Stability

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

As part of moves to boost economic stability in Kwara State, the present administration in the state has involved over 90 percent local contractors in the handling of its ongoing over 22 roads projects across the three senatorial districts of the state.

The state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr. Rotimi Ilyasu, stated this in Ilorin yesterday during inspection visits to some of the ongoing road projects in Kwara Central and Kwara North senatorial district of the state.

He said the government decided to involve local contractors in the roads projects so as to enable them employ local people in the various stages of the projects.

This, the commissioner added, would  also assist the funds transfer to the local people and thereby boosting the economic prosperity of the populace..

Ilyasu, who said the state government had earlier collated a list of local contractors in the state at the inception of the administration towards patronising them, added that: “We want indigenes of the state to get the best in what we are doing.

“We believe they will do well with strict supervision on our part in order to adhere to the scope of work as stipulated in the contract. Most of our road projects are being done by some local contractors who have lots of other investments in the state spanning long years.

“They and their workers are indigenes of the state. We want Kwarans to get the best in what we are doing.”

Ilyasu noted further that the projects such as roads and flyover are located in the three senatorial districts of the state.

He also listed some of the projects to include dualisation of Yebumot-Adeta Roundabout-Oloje road; General

Babatunde Idiagbon flyover at Tanke; Tanke-Oke Odo ring road;, St. Clair’s road, Offa; Banni township road in Kaiama LGA; Osi-Obbo road, Abdul Azeez-Oja Oba road, Ilorin; Ibrahim Taiwo-Ita Amodu road; Ilesa-Baruba Gwanara road, among many others.

Also speaking at the Babatunde Idiagbon flyover site at Tanke in Ilorin, the chief resident engineer of the project, Joseph Bamgboye, said the flyover is a major project connecting four major axes in the state capital.