The incessant traffic gridlock on Odo-Ona-Apata-Ganga road in Ibadan, which also connects Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with Abeokuta, is a thing of concern to many residents of Ibadan, motorists and most especially, those whose houses are located on the road.Many residents of Apata and Owode communities who spoke with Community News want the federal and state governments to do something about the incessant traffic jam on the road which always make vehicle owners to avoid the road.A staff of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at Apata, Ibadan, who spoke with Community News, said there was nothing the company could do to prevent or stop the petroleum tanker drivers from packing on the road, adding that the only solution to the incessant traffic gridlock on the ever-busy road was for the federal government to dualise it.Accoring to him, ' Oyo State government should be begged to make serious case for the expansion of the road. The federal government may not embark in the dualisation of the road if the state government folds its arm. But I will advise Governor Abiola Ajimobi to write his name in gold by dualising the road just like the immediate past governor of the state, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, did by dualising Molete-Dugbe road. If Governor Ajimobi can do this, then people of the state would continue to remember his name for good because the history of Ibadan cannot be complete without making mention of Chief Alao-Akala when it comes to road construction,' he stated.Mr Funso Babatope, a secondary school teacher in one of the schools at Apata, told Community News that one of the reasons people of the area voted massively for Governor Ajimobi during the last elections was the belief that he would help dualise the road just like Chief Alao-Akala did on Molete-Dugbe road.According to the teacher, 'Odo-Ona, Apata and Owode communities is in Ibadan South-West Local Government Council which is the stronghold of Senator Abiola Ajimobi. We also voted for him because some of his supporters told us that he would embark on the expansion and dualisation of Odo-Ona-Apata road once he assumed office.'We felt if the immediate past governor of Oyo State, Chief Alao-Akala, could dualise Molete-Dugbe road, then there is nothing stopping Senator Abiola Ajimobi from doing the same on Odo-Ona, Apata, Owode road because his contituency is Ibadan South-West Local Government Council.'We believe he would dualise the road for us because that is the major dividend of democracy people living in the area are expecting from Governor Abiola Ajimobi', he stated.Residents of Odo-Ona, along Apata-Ganga also told Community News that they were still expecting the expansion work on the road. The people of the area said though they were aware of the fact that the road was a federal government road, they said they expected the state government to dualise.A member of the Odo-Ona Landlords Association, Mr Tunji Olaiya, said the expectation for the dualisation of Odo-Ona/Apata road was very high in the area, advising Oyo State government not to disappoint the people concerning the issue.'Everybody is also desirous of the dualisation of the road. In fact, once the people of the area see those telecommunications' workers digging the ground to lay fibre cables, the belief of some of them would be probably the state government has started the dualisation work. So, Governor Abiola Ajimobi should do the road expansion so that there would be free flow of traffic on the road just like we now have on Molete-Dugbe road,' he emphasised.
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