…Awards 131.58km Rural roads
The Ekiti State Government has restated its stance to change the narratives in the agricultural sector by exploring the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) to provide road infrastructure that would aid food production in the State.
The State Project Coordinator of RAAMP, Hon Sunday Adunmo stated this in Ado Ekiti on Thursday while signing the contract for the award of three new roads.
The three newly awarded road projects are : the 15.10km -Ido-Ipere-Iludun road, the 4.53km- Abekoko-Ijarigbin road in Ado-Ekiti and the 15.73km Agbado-Ejisun-Ipole-Ise road, now brings the length of all roads awarded by the World Bank co-sponsored project in the last 10 months to 131.58km.
Adunmo who said the three new roads are crucial to the agricultural agenda of the Governor Biodun Oyebanji-led administration stated that though the roads are located along several farm settlements which are renowned for large scale farming, transporting the farm produce through them has been very difficult.
He disclosed that aside the 131.58km awarded under the backlog maintenance/rehabilitation intervention category, the State is preparing for another phase of award in the same category while 450km of spot improvement is also in the pipeline.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Information, Rt Hon. Taiwo Olatubosun said the Oyebanji-led administration would do its best to transform Ekiti State to the destination of choice for agri-business in Nigeria.
Olatubosun who expressed delight that the vision of Governor Oyebanji’s in making Ekiti the food basket of the nation is becoming more realistic with the various investments in the agriculture sector , said the roads constructed under the RAAMP initiative are strategically selected to ensure food security and wealth creation among farmers.
The Commissioner who assured that Governor Oyebanji would not relent in fulfilling his promise of shared prosperity to Ekiti people told the contractors handling the three new roads to brace up for regular inspections for compliance to specifications.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor/ Director General in the Office of Transformation and Service Delivery (OTSD), Dr John Ekundayo said the connectivity of farms to the market will not only ensure food security but also boost the economy of the State.
Ekundayo disclosed that Governor Oyebanji had directed that Oye-Are road be linked with the ring road that connects the State’s cargo airport.
This, he said, would farmers transport their farm produce seamlessly to the cargo airport, thereby getting to the larger international markets.
The Special Adviser and Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Mr. James Folorunso warned the contractors against shoddy jobs and urged them to handle the project as their personal enterprise which must not fail.
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At the event were the Director General of the State Roads Fund (SRF), Mrs Folu Ogunlayi, DG Rural Access Roads Authority (RARA), Engr Emmanuel Oluwafemi, the Chairman of the Nigeria Institution of Civil Engineers, Engr Samuel Ogundare who spoke on behalf of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) and representatives of the Director-Generals of the Project Monitoring Office and Bureau of Local Content.
In their responses, the contractors pledged to deliver quality job in time and on cost.
They promised not to betray the confidence reposed in them by the State Government.
Messrs Syriton Nigeria Ltd won the bid for the construction of Ido-Ipere-Iludun road; Messrs Strabic Construction Ltd won the bid for Abekoko-Ijarigbin road while the bid for Agbado-Ejisun-Ipole-Ise road was won by Messrs Hensek Integrated Services Ltd.