…says ‘We did 10.5km of that road’
Immediate past Osun Commissioner for Works and Transport, in the Adegboyega Oyetola Administration, Engineer Remi Omowaiye has described as untrue the claim by Governor Ademola Adeleke that the Oyetola government abandoned the Osogbo -Ikirun Ila Odo Kwara State Boundary road.
He said while the Rauf Aregbesola’s administration, which awarded the contract did 10km of the road, the Oyetola’s administration did 10.5km and had indeed completed the project, saying all what the current PDP government did was putting the final layer of the asphalt, which he noted was about 30 percent of the entire project.
Omowaiye noted that there was no way a 10km road of that nature can be done within a month, adding before they left in November last year, they had done the earthwork, the hydraulic, the stabilisation using bolder at various levels and the binder course.
He further said : “It was the administration of the former Governor Rauf Aregbesola that awarded the dualisation of the Osogbo- Ikirun – Ila-Odo, Kwara State boundary road. Before he left government, the Aregbesola’s administration did the dualisation of the 10km from old-garage in Osogbo to Osogbo steel rolling mill. And when Governor Adegboyega Oyetola came on board in November 2018, he took the dualisation from where Aregbesola stopped (i.e from Osogbo steel rolling mill that is chainage 10.0 to chainage 20.5 (10.5km).
“The Oyetola’s administration did it to binder course level. We also ensured that portions of the road with unsuitable soil were stabilised with boulder (big stones). If you recollect, the former Governor Oyetola and my humble self went to the site on several occasions and there are pictorial evidences that support our claim that while the project was going on, we were also going there to inspect and supervise the project.
“It is a blatant lie that we abandoned it. It is also a pure lie that it was Senator Ademola Adeleke that came to do it. How would he had completed the dualisation of a 10km of road within one month?
“What he did was just the wearing course which was the final layer of asphalt. We had done the earthwork, the hydraulic, we had done the stabilisation using bolder at various levels and we had done the binder course. We paid the contractor severally and the contractor can not deny that as we have the evidence of payment.
“So, the only thing he (Adeleke) came to do was just to complete it which was about 30 percent of the total work. The Honourable Minister for Works (State) at a point, during the construction, came to inspect the work during our time,” Omowaiye said.