Ondo communities protest over bad roads, seek government intervention 

Some Communities in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State have staged a peaceful demonstration to attract government’s attention to  bad roads in their various communities.

The communities were Graceland Estate, Grace Garden City, God’s Ownland and Bethel Estate, all in Oba-Ile.

They appealed to Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to urgently come to their aid by fixing the roads.

Residents of the communities carried various placards with inscriptions such as ” We are Communities of over 3,000 families. We need road urgently. Mr Gov. A Wa Lokan; Our Cars Are Crying For Help! Aketi Please, Come to Our Rescue; Aketi, We Are 4 You. Let US Be Part Of The Giant Strides In Road Network In Ondo State, among others.

While addressing newsmen during the peaceful protest, Mr Martins Popoola, Chairman, Graceland Estate, explained that for the past 10 years, the residents had relied on self-help by contributing funds to maintain the roads without any help from the state government.

Popoola,who said that the residents were aware that Akeredolu was working on infrastructure, especially roads, across the state, said if the road were fixed, it had the capacity to decongest and reduce pressure on the road linking the airport.

“We have heard that he has approved reconstruction of the roads but there is no fund to back it up. But we are begging him to take money out of no money, as he has done in other places, to please fix the roads.

“We are expanding everyday, it is the road that is holding us back, this road is very important to our lives and property. The property value would have gone double if not for the bad roads.

“We have minimum of 3,000 families in the communities and this roads link from Oba-Ile to SIB, to Airport and even Alagbaka. If it is fixed, it will also improve the socio-economy of the state,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Oladele Aliu, Chairman, God’s Ownland, who also appreciated Akeredolu for his giant strides in security and infrastructure, appealed to the state government to fix the road for the betterment of the residents in the areas.

“Mr governor has been doing major roads across the state, especially in places such as Ikare-Akoko, Okitipupa, Akure and Owo, among others.

He has been christened Mr talk and do while in some quarters Mr project. Now it is our time to be rescued from bad roads in our communities,” Aliu said.

Mrs Kafayat Musa, a resident in the communities, said that the road had given her backache while her sister-in-law had been sick for two weeks due to the bad road they were plying every day.

Mr Victor Ajimuda and Mrs Awotimehin also lamented over the non motorable roads in the communities, saying they were spending much money to fix their cars weekly.

“We are pleading to Mr governor to come to our assistance and help us fix these roads because our cars are getting spoilt day by day and things are getting expensive” they said.