Oyo to construct 1,000km rural farm roads soon — Makinde

Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde has said that the state government will soon begin the construction of 1,000 kilometres of rural roads to aid farming and movement of farm produce from rural areas to the city centres.

The governor stated that the farm roads will be constructed under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), with the procurement process already completed and mobilisation to sites expected in the coming weeks.

This was as the governor said he has given the go-ahead to the 33 Local Government Areas to grade 30 kilometres of road each.

Governor Makinde stated this while speaking at the special plenary sitting to mark the first anniversary of the 10th Assembly and presentation of a State of the State Address, held at the Oyo State House of Assembly Complex, Agodi, Ibadan.

Speaking about road construction, Governor Makinde said, “Our template has been very simple. We felt that we should connect all our zones first. If we can go from zone A to Zone B and to Zone C, then, 50 percent of our problems would have been solved. After that, we could start fixing the inner road.

“Of course, now we have started with Ibadan inner roads. We also have the RAAMP under which 1,000 kilometres of rural farm roads are going to be constructed and I think we are almost done with the procurement process and we should see mobilisation to sites soon.

“Also, I have already given a nod for the implementation for about 30 kilometres of road per local government. They should go ahead and do it, as we have given the nod. The money is sitting in the account of each local government area.”

The governor, who appreciated members of the House of Assembly and the people of Oyo State for their support for the administration and contributions to the growth of the state’s economy, said the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state increased from N4.2bn in 2023 to N4.95bn in the first quarter of 2024.

According to the governor, the policies and projects of his administration in the last five years have been geared towards restoring dignity and pride of Oyo State.

He gave the assurance that there would continue to be a cordial relationship among the three arms of government in order to ensure that all zones of the state feel the impact of good governance.

The governor gave a blow by blow account of his administration’s achievements across the four service-point agenda of the government, including education, health, security and expansion of the state’s economy through infrastructure development, agribusiness, tourism and solid mineral development.

He added that his administration has been able to rejuvenate the economy of the state through the implementation of the Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery (SAfER), which was introduced to cushion the effect of subsidy removal on residents of the state.

“From accelerated development to sustainable development, we have always believed in taking a completely different approach to the economic development of our dear State. This is why when fuel subsidy and the peg on the dollar were removed, while other States were busy distributing palliatives, we were thinking of short, medium, and long-term solutions.

“We came up with SAfER – Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery. The keywords -Sustainable actions. SAfER has various, including a food relief package, transport subsidy, food security measures, provision of health insurance, and support for small and micro enterprises and civil servants.”

In the infrastructure sector, Governor Makinde recounted how the administration has successfully connected all zones of the state through the 65 km Moniya-Ijaiye-Iseyin Road, the 34.85km Oyo-Iseyin Road and the 76.67km Iseyin-Fapote-Ogbomoso Road named Adebayo Alao-Akala Memorial Highway.

He added that the administration also delivered the 12.5km Challenge-Odo Ona Elewe-Elebu-Apata Road Dualisation named after Chief Theophilus Akinyele; the dualisation of the 8.2km Agodi Gate-Old Ife Road-Adegbayi Road, including an underpass at Onipepeye area, while it is currently reconstructing the 48km Ido-Eruwa Road to link Ibadan and Ibarapa Zones, among other road projects.

According to the governor, the real impact of the road project is that the state is fast becoming a regional agribusiness industrial hub, with the Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub located on the Oyo-Iseyin Road, hosting agri-industries such as FrieslandCampina WAMCO with 200 hectares of dairy production; Milkin Barn Agro Services Ltd with 150 hectares for maize cultivation and dairy production; IITA platform Generative and GOSEED Vegetative Ltd with 100 hectares for cassava value chain development, among other companies.

Governor Makinde also used the occasion to reiterate his administration’s commitment to building institutions that will guarantee the well-being and continued prosperity of the state, saying his government would be defined by these institutions.

He solicited for more support and collective responsibility to solve various challenges facing the state, noting that the government cannot do it alone.

Earlier, the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, said the Assembly has, in the last one year, worked tirelessly to review and pass important legislations, debated critical issues, and represented their constituents with dedication.

He commended the lawmakers for their high level of commitment and patriotism to the welfare of the people of Oyo State and their collaboration with the Executive Arm of Government in its quest to transform and re-engineer the state.

According to Ogundoyin, all the achievements recorded by the House within the last one year were due to the unflinching support and cooperation of Governor Makinde, who according to him, “has taken good governance to a higher level of quality, impact and effectiveness.”

The event had in attendance the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Barr. Bayo Lawal; PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; as well as former Deputy Governors of Oyo State, Engr. Hamid Gbadamosi and Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi.

Also in attendance were Senator Monsurat Sunmonu; Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Iyabo Yerima; Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Olanike Adeyemo; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi; Head of Service, Mrs Olubunmi Oni, political functionaries, traditional rulers and religious leaders, among other dignitaries.