Revamping rural roads will reduce rural-urban migration — Commissioner
Ogun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Honourable Afolabi Afuape, disclosed that more rural roads would be attended to in order to minimise rural-urban migration as well as improve accessibility of agricultural products to the final consumers in the urban areas.
The Commissioner stated this while hosting the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) team from Abuja in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Afuape noted that the present administration is not resting on its oars to improve the lots of its citizens, adding that Public Private Partnership Initiative is another means that would reduce Local Government Areas’ reliance on the dwindling Federal Allocation.
He noted that rural roads and markets would receive the necessary attention needed in government’s infrastructural development and advised that the Ministry should be carried along to make input in the project’s final bill before submission to the State House of Assembly.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr. Kolawole Fagbohun said, the State has been a beneficiary of World Bank initiatives and aware of the conditions and requirements, saying Local Government should be represented in the decision making process as this would make them key into the programme.
Representative of the National Coordinator of the Project, Engr. Abdulazeez Bukar-Gana, said all the projects are domiciled under the councils adding that they are mostly meant to improve accessibility within the Local Government Areas and improve agricultural markets.
He added that some of the markets at the grassroots would be attended to, while about 2000km of roads would be visited for development, to create employment and reduce level of poverty among rural dwellers.
Consultant to the State/Coordinator RAAMP, Mr. Maysam Abedin Annette Umakhihe said rural roads are in very poor condition due to lack of funding, adding managing the roads, requires strong, dedicated, and technical management.
RAAMP is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria co-financed by the World Bank.
