A prominent traditional ruler in Ekiti State and the Onijan of Ijan Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government Area, Oba Adebanji Aladesuyi, has expressed elation and excitement over the approval granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the reconstruction and dualisation of the pothole-laden Ado-Ijan-Ikare road, describing it as a great relieve to Nigerians.
The monarch, who showered encomiums on the President for the approval, said the project will not only open the frontiers of employment generation and bolster the economic prosperity of Ondo and Ekiti States when completed, but would also bring solace to his town and other communities along that axis in terms of hitch-free traffic flow.
In a statement made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti, Oba Aladesuyi, commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji and the Senate Leader, who also represents Ekiti Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, for putting up struggles for expedited action on the approval .
The prominent monarch, gave the commendation, in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday.
The statement was in reaction to the exhilarating disclosure made by Senator Bamidele during a recent visit to Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), that the federal government had approved the project, coming barely 24 hours after the staff and students of the Federal Polytechnic , Ado Ekiti, staged a protest to condemn the parlous outlook of the road.
However, the highly elated Oba Adebanji, appealed to the federal government to expeditiously begin the execution of the project by mobilising contractors to site, regretting that the current decrepit state of the road portends grave danger to motorists and commuters.
The monarch further revealed that the road was a connect to institutions widely regarded as the economic nerve centres of the state, being a linkage to the International Cargo Airport, Afe Babalola University, the Ekiti State Free Trade Zone, and the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, among others.
Oba Adebanji added that the country will savour immeasurable benefits from this project in future on the basis that the road is chiefly considered as a major link between the North and the Southern part of Nigeria.
The royal father expressed the feeling that the proposed dualisation project, would also open a vista of more economic prosperity in the area of agriculture, since Gbonyin axis of Ekiti State was renowned as a cocoa, timber, palm tree, yam and cassava belt, from time immemorial.
“On behalf of the good people of Ijan Ekiti, I salute President Tinubu for granting approval for the reconstruction and dualisation of this road that has become a booby trap endangering the lives of motorists and commuters.
“Though the concept was regarded as long overdue, but we still recognise and venerate the sensitivity of the federal government to the plights of citizens, because we won’t be able to quantify the benefits inherent in the project by the time it will be completed.
“Besides being a major connect between Ekiti and Ondo States and up North, the road links major public and private institutions that are pivotal to the success of Ekiti’s economy, apart from being a link to a major agriculture zone.
“Ir will be of stupendous benefit to our state and nation at large coming on the heels of President Tinubu’s quest to reduce the skyrocketing prices of food commodities through increased production and reduction of transportation cost via good road networks and extension of rail lines to many states.
“I commend Governor Biodun Oyebanji and Senator Opeyemi Bamidele on this remarkable feat. I saw the two of them visiting the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi at his office in Abuja recently. This I believe was a fallout of that visit and I appreciate them profoundly on behalf of my subjects”.
The monarch urged the federal government to kickstart the project in record time to put a soothing balm on the pains being suffered by citizens on the road that is currently ridden and laced with dangerous craters and potholes.