By DADA AYOKHAI
The former comrade governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole began his new political life as a senator on a sound footing thereby giving an inkling of the robust and active legislative agenda he intends to pursue in the next three or so years.
Without much ado, the fiery former NLC President and also former APC national chairman moved his first legislative motion on the floor of the Senate and the subject of his motion happens to be the deplorable state of the Benin – Auchi highway, something of a collective concern to the electorates in the Edo North district
The former comrade governor represents the Edo North senatorial district on the platform of the APC.
In his motion, Sen. Oshiomole drew the attention of the Senate to the deplorable state of the Benin – Auchi – Lokoja highway which serves as the link road between the Edo North district and Benin, the Edo State capital and the northern part of the country, including Abuja, the federal capital
He further observed that over the years, the federal government has abandoned the only major trunk A road that traversed through the district to its fate.
According to him, the deplorable state of the road has forced smaller vehicles to abandon plying the road and instead have opted for the longer alternative route of commuting through the narrow winding roads of Ondo State in a bid to avoid the gridlock caused by heavy-duty trucks stuck in the deep craters of the failed portions of the Benin- Auchi- Lokoja road.
He also mentioned that the deplorable state of the road has imposed heavy financial burdens on commuters and commercial transporters plying the less than an-hour journey from Auchi to Benin
Sen. Oshiomole recalled that early in January this year, the federal government as part of the Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme Phase approved the whopping sum of N75bn to accelerate the reconstruction work on the road but lamented that the pace of work by the contractor handling the project has been agonizingly slow to the consternation of the road users, adding some portions of the road have completely caved in
He further submitted that traveling on the road is now a nightmarish experience for motorists, stating that heavy-duty truck drivers spend days in the same spot trying to navigate the failed portions without any significant progress and end up blocking the passage of the smaller vehicles
He said, “The condition of the road has forced the smaller vehicles to seek longer alternative routes. The narrow-winding Ondo State roads are longer but travelers are left with no other option. They opt for the longer alternative to avoid the several kilometers of gridlock associated with the Benin- Auchi- Lokoja highway.
“As a result, transporters have hiked their fares due to the man-hour lost before getting to their destinations. They have resorted to passing the bulk to the commuters who, on the other hand, are groaning from the high cost of doing business”.
The contract for Benin- Auchi – Lokoja highway has suffered from a lot of fits and starts owing to the non-clarity surrounding the nature of the contract, awarded initially in 2012 by the then Goodluck Jonathan administration
The contract for the reconstruction of the road was split among three or so contractors namely, Dantata and Sawoe, RCC, Mother Cat, and the GIG.
Each of these companies was apportioned different sections of the road to accelerate early completion but eleven years down the line all seem to have gone awry
