The residents of the Pakuro and Ajumoni communities in Ogun State have expressed their dismay over the deteriorating roads in their areas.
The leaders of the affected communities in separate interviews with our correspondent on Monday lamented the deteriorating conditions of several roads in their environs and made an urgent appeal to Governor Dapo Abiodun to address these issues.
The residents, who spoke with PUNCH Metro on Monday, lamented that they were tired of constantly patching the roads themselves as the bad roads were affecting their ability to transport their farm produce to the cities.
The Chairman of the Pakuro Community Development Committee, Olusegun Omolosho, expressed the community’s suffering due to the poor state of the roads and called on the state government for assistance.
He said despite the road’s economic importance to the state, connecting towns and villages since 1843, it had never been properly maintained by the government.
“We are appealing to the government to fix the road in our area. Despite its economic importance, our road, which connects towns and villages that have existed since 1843, has never been properly maintained.”
“Several government agents, including those from the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Mining, are collecting money from residents without providing any benefits. We urge the government to take action and fix the road, including drainage to prevent erosion, and to improve the lives of the people in our community,” he said.
The Chairman of the Ajumoni area CDC, Jimoh Owolabi, highlighted the community’s efforts to maintain the roads, which he said had cost millions of naira, noting that that the CDC had raised funds through toll collections, contributions from community stakeholders, and businesses. However, these efforts, he said, had not been sufficient to keep the roads in good condition.
“Some government officials, like those from the local government, are collecting revenue from our road, but we are calling on them to come and help us fix it.
“We are tired of taking palliative measures, spending a lot of money every year – at least N10m, which we raise within the community through taxes and contributions from shareholders, business owners, and those with filling stations, cement shops, schools, and other businesses along the road.
“Despite our efforts, the road is still deteriorating due to the heavy traffic of tippers collecting sand and resources,” Owolabi said.
He also mentioned that the community had sent several letters to the House of Assembly, including one last year copied to the governor, but no action had been taken.
All efforts to reach the Commissioner for Works via phone calls and WhatsApp text messages did not yield any response as of the time of filing this report.
