Indigenes of the Ejigbo community in Osun State have decried the poor state of the Ejigbo/Iwo road and called on the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke to set machinery in motion to fix the road.
Speaking at the maiden Ojude Oba Ejigbo held at Gbamoge Square, Ejigbo on Saturday, the chairman of the event, Mr Tayo Adebowale, said the deplorable condition of the road has made it impossible for international business owners, who are using the route to access Cote de Ivoire, Togo and Ghana, look for alternative.
Adebowale, however, urged Adeleke to consider fixing the road, adding that the Ejigbo community supported him to emerge as governor during the last governorship election.
He said, “Our people are based in Ivory Coast. Trading is our mainstay, especially foreign trading. So, good road network is very important to us. We have daily departure and arrival to and from Abidjan every day. But Ejigbo/Owo Road has been abandoned for close to 20 years. Even transporters can no longer ply the road.
“Farmers can no longer bring in their produce from the farm. That road is a major route for us. People going to Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast, as people coming from the Eastern part of the country to board vehicles going to those countries are having difficulty reaching here.
“Vehicles are developing faults whenever they ply the road. That is why we pleading with the state government to please look at that road and do something about it. We voted for the governor and we believe he is going to look at the road and help us to fix it.”
In his remarks, Osun State Governor represented by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Abiodun Ojo, assured the Ejigbo community of more support to further improve infrastructural amenities in the town.
The chairman of the maiden Ojude Oba Ejigbo planning committee, Mr Olaide Raji, said the initiative was designed to foster harmonious relationships among the indigenes, thus providing a platform to further support efforts that would lift the town among its peers in the State.
He also called on Adeleke to listen to the cries of the community and rehabilitate the Ejigbo/Iwo road.
