..Says Project Preparing for Asphalting of 12 Roads

The Project Coordinator of Ekiti State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) Hon. Sunday Adunmo has debunked claims that some roads being constructed by the Project do not adhere to specifications.

Speaking on a weekly Yoruba programme tagged ‘Ona Lese Kuku’, the Project Coordinator said the contractor handling Enu Odi-Ita Eku-Igirigiri road and Omisanjana-Ben Folarin-Oke Aso road has not deviated from the specifications given him when the roads were awarded last year.

Adunmo who explained that RAAMP roads are designed as Low Volume rural roads stated that the Project merely provided rehabilitation intervention to about 1km stretch of Enu Odi-Ita Eku-Igirigiri road which was in a state of disrepair as it was not ideal to skip the portion and start construction from the area which was originally captured as rural in line with the scope of RAAMP.

The Coordinator explained that the portion in contention has an existing drainage which only needed to be repaired rather than outright replacement before the road could be asphalted.

While stating that Ekiti RAAMP under his watch would not accept shoddy jobs from any contractor, Adunmo said regular monitoring of construction works on all the project sites by competent professionals, including Governor Biodun Oyebanji, the State Audit, Independent Project Monitoring Office, Office of Transformation and Service Delivery (OTSD) and the State Project Monitoring Committee, would not give room for substandard construction work.

He also noted that flooding on the road was caused by the obstruction of waterways following the erection of houses on the channels.

Adunmo who urged residents to desist from blocking water channels said RAAMP would provide two relief culverts to ease flow of water along Ureje river channel.

Providing updates on other roads, the Project Coordinator disclosed that the contractor handling 20km Ikole-Isaba-Ikoyi-Igbemo road would complete asphalting of the road by June, while 2.6km asphalt has been laid on Ikogosi-Aba Osun-Aba Oriokuta road; assuring that asphalting would commence on twelve (12) other roads in the same month.

He said contractors handling the nine roads have been instructed to start laying asphalt on the stretch of the roads where base works have been completed and certified for asphalting.

The roads are Ara-Ekameta school road, Igbole Osi-Iropora road, Ise-Imola road, FMS farm-Oke Ako road, and Ilupeju-Egan-Ayede road.

Others are Erinmope-Irare-Ikosun road, Iye-Isapa-Olopomeji-Ikun road, Enu Odi-Ita Eku-Igirigiri road, Omisanjana-Ben Folarin-Oke Aso road, Owode-Anaye road, Afolu-Odofin road and Ise-Imola road.

Hon. Adunmo who disclosed readiness to advertise request for bids for the construction of another batch of rural roads said about 450km of rural roads have been designed and would be awarded as soon approvals are given for their advertisement.

He assured that no rural community in the State would be left out in the implementation of RAAMP in the State.