Ado-Akure Road Rehabilitation Stalled By Legal Tussle – Minister Of State, Adegoroye

By Ayodele Oni

The hope of getting contractor to fix dilapidated Ado – Ikere – Akure highway, has been hindered by a legal tussle.

The former contractor handling the road is aggrieved over the re-award of the project to another contractor and has gone to Court to stop work on the highway.

The road has been abandoned by travelers who, now, resort to an alternative route to get to their destination, as it has become kidnappers den due to its dilapidation.

Minister of State for Transportation, Ademola Adegoroye , disclosed in Akure, Ondo state on Monday that reconstruction work on the highway is being hindered by a court action.

Media Aide to the Minister, Ebenezer Adeniyan, stated in a statement that Adegoroye spoke on the present status of the contract when he featured on a Radio programme.

Adegoroye said the contract for the project has been re awarded but the Court action instituted by the former contractor has stalled the execution of the project.

“I know how our people are suffering on that road. My mother is from Ekiti and my father is from Akure.

“So, I know how crucial that road is to our people in Ondo and Ekiti States. We are not relenting in our efforts on the road.

“Two days ago, I and the new Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, met and we discussed this issue.

“We resolved to meet with the former contractor in January to see how the issue can be settled out of court so that the project can take off.”

The Minister also spoke on his effort to secure employment at the federal civil service for Youths in Ondo state saying a number of jobless youths in Ondo State have been penciled down for recruitment into various agencies of the federal government.

Adegoroye, explained that one of his priorities when he assumed office was to get as many Ondo State indigenes as possible recruited into federal civil service, and that the first batch of beneficiaries has been shortlisted and will soon be issued letters.

According to him, this is in continuation of his advocacy to correct the poor representation of Ondo State in federal civil service, which had necessitated his visit to the Head of Service of the Federation shortly after he assumed office in Abuja.