By Ernest Nwokolo,
The 42-kilometre Sagamu Interchange-Abeokuta Road, the 14-kilometre Ijebu-Ode-Mojoda-Epe Expressway and the Gateway City Monument were among key projects inaugurated yesterday in Ogun State by President Muhammadu Buhari. Also inaugurated were two housing estates for low, medium and high income earners at Kobape and Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The President, who was on a one-day visit to the Gateway State, was received at the Sagamu Interchange by Governor Dapo Abiodun and his colleagues from the Southwest. The governors are: Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Gboyega Oyetola (Osun); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Oyo State Deputy Governor Rauf Olaniyan , who stood in for Governor Seyi Makinde.
Buhari lauded Prince Abiodun for delivering trail-blazing projects in the midst of the prevailing circumstances occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. He described Abiodun as the “performing Governor of Nigeria’s Gateway State and a worthy example of ‘promises made, promises kept.”
The President noted that the projects he inaugurated could not have materialised without the state government’s huge investment and commitment to security of lives and property.
“This has made Ogun State one of the safest and most peaceful states in the country and investors’ destination of choice. you (Prince Abiodun) have justified the mandate of the people of Ogun State. You have represented our Party very well.”
On the Ijebu Ode-Mojoda-Epe Road upgrade into a modern expressway, the President noted that it would complement the Sagamu-Benin Expressway being reconstructed by the Federal Government. He assured that the Sagamu-Benin Expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan Highway would be completed and inaugurated this year.
The President said: “Just across the road is the 42-kilometer Sagamu-Interchange-Abeokuta Road, which the state government has reconstructed and equipped with street lights.
‘“That road enjoys a direct linkage with the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway that the Federal Government is rebuilding and due for completion later this year. I am particularly impressed by the quality and standard of your road projects, and the creative way you have deployed resources to reconstruct and rehabilitate them. It is significant to note that the two road projects being commissioned today are federal roads. This is an example of constructive engagement, cooperation and collaboration between the states and Federal Government.
“These roads also fit well into our rail transportation masterplan that connects Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, to Kano, with Ogun State having more rail stations, along the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor.”
On the housing schemes, Buhari described it as heart-warming that it cuts across different social strata, capturing the low, medium and high income earners.
Admiring the Gateway City Gate Monument, Buhari said: “It is not just a Park beautification project, it depicts that something new is happening in Ogun State, a welcoming entrance into the state capital at the centre of the state.”
He described the project as an icon depicting the joining of hands for building the future of Ogun State in togetherness.
“Your Excellency, well done! I am proud of what you have done for your state and your people. You have made our great party, the APC, proud too. “
Responding to requests by governor for the prioritisation of the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta and the Sango Otta-Idiroko roads, the President assured that the roads will get federal attention. According to him, the Federal Government would consider extending tax credit as funding option for the reconstruction of the two critical roads as done for the 100-kilometed Sagamu Interchange-Papalanto-Ilaro Road.
He also hinted that approval might be considered for the reconstruction of Sagamu-Ogijo Road by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited under the tax credit scheme.
Thanking residents for the warm reception accorded him on his first visit to any state in the New Year, he said: “This welcome by the large crowd brings back the nostalgia of my first arrival on this soil as a young infantry officer in the Nigerian Army at the then Lafenwa Barracks in Abeokuta, not long after independence.
“The traditional hospitality of the people of this State has not waned a bit. Today, I am ‘Omowale’ and very happy at this homecoming to meet my brothers and sisters whose goodwill I have always enjoyed. Thank you.”
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President congratulated the people for having a focused and inclusive administration under the watch of Prince Abiodun.
He urged them to continue to support the governor for the successful implementation of his “Building Our Future Together” agenda.
On the honourary Ogun State indigene given to him, the President said: “It is also with a sense of responsibility that I receive and cherish the honourary indigeneship bestowed on me as symbolised by the presentation of the key to the Gateway State by Governor Abiodun.
“I will leave Ogun State with fond memories and look forward to enjoying the privilege of my honourary indigeneship.’’
Abiodun said that his administration’s projects and programmes are deliberate and guided by a vision to give Ogun focused and qualitative governance and create an enabling environment for a thriving public-private sector partnership.
The governor told the President that all state government projects have the inputs and are informed by the needs of the people as expressed by them at different engagement fora.
Reminding the President that Ogun has highest number of federal roads in the country, Abiodun requested that state be accorded a Special Status for Federal Government Infrastructural Funding, especially on roads.