Makinde pledges to deliver Ibadan circular road before May 2023

Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says his administration will complete the 32-kilometre-stretch Ibadan circular road, before his tenure ends on May 28, 2023.

This assurance is contained in a statement issued by Mr Taiwo Adisa – the Chief Press Secretary to the governor in Ibadan, on Wednesday.

Makinde was quoted as giving the assurance during a tour of some road projects, on Tuesday evening.

Justifying the sack of ENL Consortium Construction Company, previously handling the project, the governor said his administration had to sack was due to unsatisfactory slow pace of work.

According to him, the contractor would be unable to deliver the road in another 20 years if allowed to continue at that pace.

Makinde, who posited that only two kilometres of the 32-kilometre road had been tarred as at the time he visited the site, however, promised to pay the sacked contractor for evaluated work done.

He said that his government has been asking the contractor to do a joint valuation because his administration did not want to destroy anyone’s business.

“We have an appreciation of what we need to do to ensure that this kicks-off almost immediately and then it can meet our target,’’ Makinde was quoted as saying.

The governor explained that the road would be concession but that the government would be partly involved.

“This 32-kilometre portion must be delivered within this first tenure of this administration.

“We are still going to concession it because the previous administration left it 100 per cent to the concessionaire, which we thought was a mistake.

“We definitely will have some form of involvement of the Oyo state government with a new concessionaire.

“We will take a certain percentage for Oyo State Government and, that way, the government is carried along every step of the way.’’