Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has said he has been spending millions of Naira to fix failed portions of federal highways in the state without getting a refund. He spoke while inspecting repair work at the Ayede-Ogbese axis of the Ilesha-Akure-Owo-Benin highway. The failed portion made motorists spend about one hour on the spot. Akeredolu said he decided to repair the failed portions to alleviate the sufferings of road users. The governor said hundreds of millions of Naira have been spent by his administration to fix Federal Government roads without getting refunds. He said the Ilesha-Akure-Owo-Benin highway was important because it linked the southern part of the country to the North. Akeredolu urged the Federal Government to allocate more funds to the states to be able to carry out more developmental projects beneficial to the people. He said: “The Ayede-Ogbese road, which was built long ago around 1998-1999/2000 needs major maintenance, including resurfacing. “We can say it that the Federal Government has bitten off more than it can chew. So, often times most of the federal roads get spoilt. Even the Federal Road Maintenance Agency set up by the government is not able to rise up to the occasion in time. “But whether we like it or not, these roads are being used by our people, and we have no option but to look for money, in spite of lack of finances, to carry out this sort of intervention.”
TheNation