Olomore Residents Lament Hardship, Dust Haze Over Uncompleted Road Project

ABEOKUTA – Residents of Olomore, Iyana-Sanni areas of Abeokuta North local government of Ogun State have lamented the hardship and dust haze caused by the uncompleted condition of Olomore and Iyana-Sanni Road, in their area.

The residents, in a protest staged in the areas recently, claimed that the Dapo Abiodun-led administration had neglected and abandoned the road and failed in his campaign promises.

The protesting residents, who included women and youths, carried placards with different inscriptions indicating the bad state of the road and adjoining streets, calling on the state government to come to their aid in completing the project which was started by the present administration two years ago.

The woman leader of the community, Mrs. Adedoyin Balogun, said the gridlock caused by the road had led to the death of many residents, noting that many residents’ fenced houses had also been pulled down by the recent heavy downpour of rain.

Her words, “This protest is long overdue. Some of our children can no longer go to school whenever there’s rain; the ones that go to school struggle to get there because their school buses/bike men no longer ply the road because of its bad state.

“We are suffering. About three months ago, two of our houses’ fences were pulled down by the downpour, due to shady work being done by the contractors. Those contractors handling the project are not capable and competent enough to do it, the state government should come to our areas and see the deplorable state of the road themselves, with a view to also monitor the project accordingly, especially for proper completion.

“We want the road to be fixed, urgently. We want the government to stop the trucks plying this road. These trucks should be diverted to another route, if it is passable, they should ply Lafenwa road instead of Olomore/Iyana-Sanni road, because they cause gridlock and also damage the road the most.

“We want to use this medium to appeal to Governor Dapo Abiodun to please complete the roads before this year ends, so that we can be free of the dust haze that has caused us many health problems.”

Contributing, President of the youths in the community, Mr. Olusanya Lookman, alleged that the government, despite being notified of the hardship, feigned ignorance of their plights, saying in a recent press briefing by the Commissioner of Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ade Akinsanya, the question about the road was raised, but refused to comment on it.

Olusanya added that the residents were determined to voice out their aggression to get a solution, saying they would vote against the ruling party of Prince Dapo Abiodun, (APC), if the government refused or failed to fix the roads.

“We are tired, we have also had a series of meetings with ourselves (communities) but we find it very difficult to get it fixed. So, the elders, women and youths in the community decided to protest. We have decided that if they don’t do the road, we will move down to the state secretariat, Oke-Mosan to register our predicaments,” Lookman posited.