In order to prevent future accidents on the road, the Nigerian Senate has asked the Nigeriansena Government to immediately instruct the appropriate agencies to finish repairing the ancient Ogbomoso-Oyo route.
This follows Wednesday's passage of a motion for the federal government to restore the Ogbomoso-Oyo trunk "A" road and finish building the new Ogbomoso expressway.
Senator Buhari Abdulfatai (APC-Oyo) sponsored the measure.
A terrible tragedy involving gasoline tankers has thrust the residents of Ogbomoso into an unprecedented crisis in the past month, according to Senator Abdulfatai, who was speaking in motion.
His account was that the accident had caused traffic to come to a standstill.
He further alleged that this caused economic paralysis, the loss of innocent lives, and the displacement of certain local residents.
The problem has been exacerbated, according to Senator Abdulfatai, since commuters have been forced to use the old Ogbomoso-Oyo route, a federal road, while the new Ogbomoso-Oyo federal road is being rebuilt.
The road's construction, he claims, has been running strong since 2007.
Senator Abdulfatai stated that in order to expedite the road restoration, the federal government contracted out certain sections of the route to private companies.
He mentioned that although certain parts had been finished, the Ogbomoso-Oyo road was still unfinished.
He claims that the contractor responsible for that part of the project has already departed.
He expressed concern over the ongoing repair of the old Ogbomoso-Oyo federal route, which commuters have temporarily used, because of the large number of trucks that have been using it since 2020.
Even if the rehabilitation is trying to fix the infrastructure, I'm concerned about one thing.
Tragically, most of the Ogbomoso metropolitan highways have been destroyed due to the frequent employment of this temporary diversion over time, trapping people and causing havoc.
Even more concerning is the fact that this short road—less than 500 meters—has turned into a death trap and is to blame for a slew of accidents that have occurred recently.
"Millions of naira's worth of perishable goods from the north have been destroyed, and shipments from ports and companies have been left stranded, after over ten accidents in as many days caused deaths, injuries, and catastrophic impacts on businesses."
The primary challenge to the people of Ogbomoso and Nigeria as a whole, he said, has been the non-completion of the few kilometers road.
He emphasized the critical need of swift action to prevent additional destruction, citing the road's transit role as an example.
In addition, the Senate Committee on Works was directed to summon the Minister of Works in order to inquire about the reasons behind the contractor's decision to quit the Ogbomoso-Oyo Federal Road project.
Thanks for reading: Senate Charges Administration With Repairing Ogbomoso-Oyo Road