Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, was on Thursday, joined by his Osun State counterpart, Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke to commission the 8.2 kilometres dualised Agodi Gate-Old Ife Road-Alakia-Adegbayi Junction Road, including the Onipepeye Underpass Bridge.
Senator Adeleke, who was the special guest of honour at the event, lauded the project as part of Governor Makinde administration’s infrastructure revolution, describing it as a great motivation for his colleagues in the South-West states.
He described Makinde as a golden governor in the areas of innovations and infrastructure development, even as he called for a collective and collaborative development in the region.
Adeleke said: “I am delighted to be present in this all-important event, which is one in the series of achievements recorded by my own brother, the governor of Oyo State.
“In the whole of Western region, he is reputed to be the leading son in the areas of innovations, infrastructure and good governance.
“We have lost that rating for some time now. But I want to put it on record that the South-West has regained the momentum. The Oyo State governor is a trailblazer. Come on! Give it to him.
“From Lagos to Ekiti to Ondo to Ogun and Osun, the South-West is witnessing infrastructure upgrades. Our roads and health centres are undergoing rehabilitation and we are keeping alive the great memories of our founding leaders.
“We are placing the South-West on the national and global maps. It is on this note that I congratulate my brother, who is an uncommon engineer in governance.
“As the governor of Osun State, I watch with keen interest the developments in Oyo State. I do peer review and I must say that the people of Oyo State are lucky to have Governor Makinde.
“Oyo State governor’s performance is a great motivation not only for Osun but for other states in the South-West.
“As we celebrate my brother today, I call for closer developmental cooperation among South-West states. We must deepen closer collaboration,” he said.
Speaking shortly before cutting the tape on the project, Governor Makinde declared that the completion of the project is a testament to his administration’s commitment to expanding the state’s economy through road infrastructure.
He maintained that his administration’s goal is to upgrade cities and towns in the state to a place everyone would be proud of, adding that despite limited resources the state has managed to prioritise projects with good value.
Assuring residents that work had already started on fixing inner roads and that the government would deliver on its promise, Governor Makinde said his administration has been investing heavily on infrastructure development in order to keep up with increased attraction of large and medium businesses into the state.
He said: “We are here today to commission the dualised 8.2km Agodi gate-Old Ife Road-Alakia-Adegbayi including the underpass bridge at Onipepeye.
“The completion of this project is further testament of our commitment to expanding the Oyo State economy through road projects.
“The expansion of our economy is very important to sustainable development, which was what I preached when I came out to seek a second tenure. This is one of the benefits you are seeing as a result of my reelection.
“As we continue to attract large, medium and small businesses into Oyo State, the pressure on our infrastructure increases and there is a need to upgrade them.
“This is why we have chosen to keep investing in our infrastructure. Our goal is to upgrade cities and towns in Oyo State to places we can all be proud of.
“We don’t want to leave any communities behind. So, if we had all the resources at our disposal, we would do more at a faster rate. As we all know, our wants and needs are infinite but the resources to meet them are limited.
“So, we often have priorities on the project that will bring the best value to the good people of the state. We linked Ogbomoso zone to Iseyin, because we know the economic value of the project.
“This, indeed, for me is the true definition of governance, which is the ability to use limited resources to meet the growing needs of the population by prioritising projects that maximise value. And this is exactly what we are doing in Oyo State.”
Describing the Agodi Gate-Old Ife Road-Alakia-Adegbayi Junction Project and the Onipepeye Underpass as being quite valuable to the state, Governor Makinde said its major traction is that residents of the state can access the Ibadan Airport earlier than before.
He added that the state can now boast of many multinational and local businesses entering the state more than ever before as a result of his administration’s infrastructure development drive.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Professor Dahud Sangodoyin said the state government embarked on the dualisation of the Agodi Gate – Old Ife Road – Adegbayi Junction (8.2Km) including the Underpass Bridge at Onipepeye due to the expansion of Ibadan.
He stated that the road, which used to be a single carriage, was awarded to Messrs Kopek Construction Limited in October 2022 and that with the completion of the project, it meant that the Makinde administration has completed 187.42 kilometres of road under Omituntun 1.0 and Omituntun 2.0.
Also in their separate goodwill messages, former President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Adebayo Oyero; the Asiwaju Oloja of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Raimi and the Iba Oluyole, Alhaji (Chief) Nureni Akanbi, thanked the governor for the infrastructural and uncommon developmental strides through various projects.
The event was attended by the Deputy Governor of the state, Barr. Bayo Lawal; Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Olanike Adeyemo; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi; Head of Service, Mrs Olubunmi Oni.
Others were chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including a former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara and members of the party’s Board of Trustees; Governors Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Olusegun Mimiko, among others.
