Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial districts Senator Abdulfatai Buhari and his counterpart at the lower chamber of the of the National Assembly representing Iseyin/Kajola/Itesiwaju Hon Abiodun Olasupo on Friday joined some members of the Iseyin elders council to ascertain the level of development in Ikere gorge dam
Speaking with our reporter, an executive member of Iseyin Elders Council and a former commissioner for work and transport Alhaji Bolaji Kareem said , “ our intention is to call the attention of the government on the state of the goldmine that we have in Iseyin and to see how its potentials can be used for economic development”
“ Apart from its major function of generating electricity, irrigation, fishing and supply of water to as far as Lagos, ikere gorge dam is also one of the tourism potentials that we have in Oke Ogun, but no investors will want to come there because of the nature of the road and the state of the dam, it is pathetic to note that the road leading to the dame has been dualized with electricity , they vote money for the dam annually yet nothing serious is on ground”
“We took our representatives to the site because and they have promised to take up the matter and reposition the gorge dam” He concluded
When contacted, on phone Senator AbdulFatai Buhari, chairman Senate Committee on ICT and cybercrime said he is ready to take up the matter, such goldmine should not be allowed to be wasting away ,we will look into it and ensure that something tangible is done very soon”.
The dam was initiated by the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo and started in 1983 by the administration of Shehu Shagari. The dam was planned to generate 3750 MW of electricity, to supply water to local communities and to Lagos and to irrigate 12,000 hectares of land.
The dam was which is being controlled by Ogun/Osun River Basin an agency under the ministry of water resources has not been living up to its expectation some of the purpose for which it was meant for were functioning at a very lower ebb
A recent visit by our reporter to the place reveals that the 38km road leading to the site is in bad shape against the dualization and electrification projects that have been approved and executed on papers.
Few kilometers to the dam was tarred with asphalt and electricity
