The Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, on Tuesday said that the Federal Government has not abandoned the reconstruction of the Akure-Ado Ekiti Road.
This is contained in a statement on Wednesday in Akure by Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Minister.
Adegoroye said this when a delegation of the Ondo State House of Assembly, led by its speaker. Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
He disclosed that the contract awarded to Dantata and Sawoe for the dualisation of the road is being looked into, and explained that once the process is completed, work would resume on the project.
He gave the assurance that the project would be fast tracked.
According to him, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, who has taken the road as a priority for the government, took the step to look into the contract awarded in 2020 due to the challenges being faced by the contractor in executing the project.
“I know what our people are facing on that road but I want to again plead for more patience. The Minister of Works is meticulously doing a lot to ensure that we don’t run into any impediment when the project resumes.
“So, I want to assure our people that the project will not be abandoned,” he said.
The minister also gave assurance that the proposed Deep Sea Port in Ondo State would soon become a reality.
He added that the federal government recognised the importance of the proposed port to the Blue Economy Policy of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He also promised that all the issues of development raised by the visitors would be looked into by his office.
He described the visit of the state legislators as historic, and called them true representatives of their people.
Earlier, Oleyelogun said the visit was to forge a working relationship between the state house of assembly and the minister, a former member of the state assembly.
Oleyelogun, who noted that the state was blessed to have someone of Adegoroye’s caliber as minister, commended his achievements so far.
He urged the minister to be the rallying point for the people of the state and also guide the All Progressives Congress (APC) to victory in the state in the 2023 general elections.
Similarly, the deputy speaker of the house, Mr Samuel Aderoboye, and Chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Mr Sunday Olajide, described the Minister as very accommodating.
They said there was the need for increased presence of the federal government in the state.
Other members of the house on the visit were the Minority Leader, Mr Rasheed Elegbeleye, Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Abayomi Akinruntan, Deputy Chief Whip, Mr Festus Akinfiranye and Mr Olushola Oluyede, as well as the Clerk of the House, Mr Benjami Jaiyeola.