…as Ido Ekiti plans flag-off ceremony for Ido-Ipere-Iludun road

By Precious Owolabi, Ado-Ekiti

The Project Coordinator of Ekiti State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), Sunday Adunmo, has said that the proposed flag-off ceremony by Ido Ekiti for the construction of the 15.10km Ido-Ipere-Iludun road is an indication that communities in the state have begun to take ownership of RAAMP projects in their localities.

Speaking in Ado Ekiti on a simulcast radio programme tagged Ekiti Today, the Project Coordinator said RAAMP-benefiting communities had reposed confidence in the state government under the leadership of Governor Biodun Oyebanji by partnering with the government to ensure that projects are executed on time and within budget.

Adunmo, who said he was surprised to receive a letter of invitation to the flag-off ceremony scheduled for this Saturday, noted that the award of the Ido-Ipere-Iludun road, abandoned for almost two decades—must have inspired the people of the community to take ownership of the road.

While explaining the reason the Project did not organise a flag-off ceremony for other roads, the Project Coordinator said the Oyebanji-led administration is result-driven and more interested in commissioning completed projects rather than merely flagging them off for show.

“The traditional rulers are embracing RAAMP projects. Communities are taking ownership of our roads and we are very happy about this. I was surprised to receive an invitation to the flag-off ceremony for the construction of Ido-Ipere-Iludun road coming up this Saturday. The community is flagging off construction of the road. We awarded the road and two others last week, and the decision of Ido community to flag it off underscores the need for synergy between government and citizens. The gesture is a proof that people are building trust in the government as partners in progress,” Adunmo said.

He disclosed that the Project Office had received several letters requesting intervention from communities which were initially sceptical about the success of the project but had now been convinced by the breakthroughs recorded in the Ikole-Isaba-Ikoyi-Igbemo road and others.

In response to the letters, Adunmo said a number of roads, including Ikere-Ijare road, Ido-Orin-Ifaki road, and Isan-Ipere road, among others, would soon be advertised for construction.

The Project Coordinator, who attributed the successes recorded by RAAMP to the unflinching support of Governor Oyebanji—who insisted that all RAAMP roads in Ekiti State must be asphalted to enhance durability—disclosed that Ekiti RAAMP clinched two of six awards at the last Mission Implementation meeting of the Project held in January this year.

He emphasised that the Governor had not failed in providing the state’s counterpart funding but had consistently reviewed the progress of work with the State Project Implementation Unit as a mark of his commitment to the project’s success.

“Governor Oyebanji has given us adequate support for Ekiti RAAMP to thrive. He always reviews our progress with us, and it was as a result of the support that he gave the Project that Ekiti out of 19 States won two out of six awards at the last Mission. People have asked me if we would put asphalt on our roads. One of the issues which the Governor helped us resolve during his visits to the World Bank office was this.

He insisted that all roads that would be constructed in Ekiti must be asphalted. So we are not grading roads, but constructing and putting asphalt on them all,” he said.

Adunmo assured that, aside from the Ikole-Isaba-Ikoyi-Igbemo road where asphalting has reached 10km, work would commence on asphalting five other roads by early May.

On the maintenance of the roads, the Project Coordinator hailed Oyebanji for his far-sightedness in signing into law the Rural Access Roads Authority (RARA) bill and ensuring its operationalisation, saying the new agency—which was set up to ensure maintenance of all RAAMP roads after construction—would also involve community members who are already taking ownership of the roads.