WorldStage Newsonline– The Ogun State communities of Itele, Lafenwa-Ayetoro in Ado/Odo Ota Local Government Area may be set for a massive real estate development as Lagos State Government completes a major bridge that links the two states at Ayobo-Itele.
However, the uncertainty over the Ogun State Government’s plan to effect the construction of the remaining terrible road from Itele community to Ota remains a major source of concern to the residents.
The communities with little or no government presence have been living with terrible roads and annual flooding that normally cut them off from Lagos over the years.
However, Governor Akinwumi Ambode shortly after the assumption of office visited the residents of the Lagos end of the area at Ayobo and pledged to extend the dualisation of the road which started from Moshalashi roundabout through Jakande Gate, Ipaja to Ayobo and build a second bridge to link the Ogun State communities.
The completed second bridge was temporarily opened to the public for the first yesterday, March 22, 2018 while construction is ongoing to complete the connection of the old bridge and the new road down to the Ayetoro roundabout.
The project required that Lagos State had to undertake the construction and extension of the road inside Ogun State territory without which residents of the Ogun communities, most of who are working in Lagos, would be cut off during heavy rainfall.
Massive influx of people into the Ogun State communities had continued in recent time as the prospect of the completion of the bridge became clear, with land speculators and people that had abandoned their land and properties returning to sites.
However, the remaining terrible road from where Lagos will stop its assistance near Ayetoro roundabout to Ayetoro, Lafenwa and Ota could slow down the expected development of the area.
The Chairman of Temidayo Community Development Association, Mr Jamiu Olaoluwa Sani told WorldStage Newsonline that Lagos State Government had done a very good job, but that they should still support Ogun State Government further to extend the construction work to Lafenwa.
With the look of things, he said the construction work may be terminated before Ayetoro Roundabout and Mopol Junction which will cause problem during the rain as all the water coming from Ayetoro and Itele will converge at the junction and spoil the road if not well channelized.
“We are pleading with Governor Ambode and Governor Amosun to work together and complete the road by extending it to Lafenwa,” he said.
“You know the problem we have been facing in these communities over the years? We can only be appealing to them. It is the same government we paid our tenement rates to. We pay our tax, we constructed electricity by ourselves, yet this road from here to Ota is very terrible. A journey that is supposed to take five minutes, you will be spending two hours. That is too bad. Government has to do something.”
The communities with little or no government presence had been solely responsible for their development over the years by contributing money to provide electricity and get connected to the national grid, grading of roads, provision of water among others.
Because of past disappointment, there is doubt within the communities whether the construction of their road from where Lagos is stopping at Ayetoro roundabout, to Ota is part of the N73.5 billion earmarked for rural infrastructural development in the Ogun State government’s N345.42 billion for rural and infrastructural development/employment generation in the 2018 budget.
The Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun had during the presentation of his 2018 Appropriation Bill entitled: ‘Budget of Accelerated’ restated his administration’s readiness to construct more urban, semi-urban and rural roads.
Some would-be beneficiaries of the allocation were listed to include the 26-kilometre Sagamu-Ogijo Road; 28-Km Ikangba-Ilese-Itele Road and 26-km Ilisan-Ago-Iwoye Road.Others are the 36-km Abeokuta – Sagamu interchange road; 24-km Atan-Agbara rRoad; 42-km Sango-Ojodu Road; 5.5-km Enugada-Adatan Road; 3.5-km Itoku-Ajitadun-Iberekodo Road and 10-km Adatan-Alabata-Camp Junction.
It was also noted that 171 rural roads and 25 semi-urban roads had been earmarked for construction while three bridges at Ilaro, Oju Ore in Ota and Lusada Junction, in Ado/Odo Ota Local Government Area, would be constructed.
Earlier in in March last year, the Governor announced that contractors working on all the ongoing projects across the state had been mobilized back to site.
With Lafenwa-Ayetoro road among the ones mentioned, he assured that no project would be abandoned, saying his administration would make meaningful impacts in all the sectors especially Education, Housing, Agriculture and Health.
Specifically, some of the roads where the governor said contractors had been mobilized back to site to include Magboro-Arepo road; Ilara-Ijoun-Ilase road; Ejinrin-Oluwalogbon road; Ijoko-Akute-Alagbole road; Lafenwa-Ayetoro road; and Enugada-Adatan road, Ikangba-Ilese-Itele- Ijebu Mushin road that spans across four local government areas; Ijebu Igbo bridge; Ilisan-Ago Iwoye road; Folagbade-Ibadan garage-Imowo road and Sagamu-Ogijo road among several others.
“We are determined to change the landscape of Ogun State completely,” Governor Amosun had said.
