The Dapo Abiodun government has completed 80% of the Kemta-Ilugun-Somorin-Obantoko road reconstruction project in Abeokuta.
The 6.9 km route connects Obantoko with Kemta-Idiaba and acts as a significant bypass.
The economic and social activity of the nearby settlements has already grown as a result of the road’s repair work.
Hotels, commercial centers, private schools, and contemporary structures have been sprouting up in the neighborhood as a result of the road’s development.
After waiting for help for a very long time, which did not arrive until Governor Abiodun came to their aid, the locals have been optimistic and glad that the building of the road has become a reality.
Some locals claimed they had anticipated the state government would build the road because Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Prize winner, lives nearby.
Residents were also surprised that the road work was taking place without razing any of their homes, since certain homes had been designated for demolition to make space for the road project during the tenure of governor Ibikunle Amosun’s immediate predecessor.
Mr. Abimbola Ogunmuyiwa, a delighted local, claimed that the new road has sparked many types of growth in the region.
“We are extremely thankful to Governor Abiodun’s government for this specific road improvement, which has significantly improved living in villages in this region,” Ogunmuyiwa added.
“Getting home after a long day of work was really challenging before this route was built, but today you are at the Federal Medical Centre within 10 to 15 minutes, unlike before when you spent hours there.”
The completion of the road, according to Ilugun resident and writer Ernest Nwokolo, was a huge relief for locals.
“The road has been of huge assistance to the locals and it has raised the value of homes in the vicinity,” said Nwokolo, even if it is not yet completely finished.
“Thanks to the road’s development, one can now keep appointments since driving a car to Idiaba and from there to other sections of Abeokuta does not need waiting for very long,”
“There is now some comfort for individuals who drive their own cars since they won’t have to spend as much money on spare components to maintain them.
In addition to reducing the number of man hours needed to reach Kemta Junction, the road has increased property values. Depending on how near it is to the main road, a block of land that was being sold for N500,000 in 2018 is now going for N3 million and higher. Some go for as high as N5 million when sold.
The road’s effects extend beyond the local populace, as everyday commuters from Osiele, Camp, and Obantoko are now able to take advantage of these democratic dividends that were formerly lost man-hours in traffic on the Obantoko-Asero-Adatan Road.
According to Dr. Adewunmi Ayodele, a lecturer at the Federal College of Education in Osiele whose home is in Laderin, the road was a huge comfort for him and other people who live in the city but work at the FCE or Federal University of Agriculture.
“Before this road was built, I used to leave my home in Laderin by 6:15am, and I won’t reach to the office earlier than 8:30am owing to the lengthy hours spent on the awful Asero/Obantoko Road,” he added. But thanks to this road, I can now leave my house at past seven and arrive at work sooner than previously. I just burst out at Somorin and head to Camp. For myself and the other people working at Osiele and Camp axis, it is a huge relief.
A taxi driver who spoke about the effects of the road, Mr. Mudashiru Alao, praised Governor Abiodun for a job well done.
Alao claims that in contrast to earlier, when he had to spend hours in traffic, he can now transport passengers directly from Lafenwa to Osiele in a shorter amount of time.
Alao, who claimed that the road from Idiaba to Somorin Obantoko is now an outer ring road to Abeokuta, expressed happiness that his income had increased because he now prefers to directly travel Lafenwa/Obantoko/Osiele without spending too much time in traffic, and he suggested that people should reward the good work by supporting Abiodun’s second term election campaign.
