Residents of communities along Agbado, Opeilu, Itoki, and Abule in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State say people are abandoning their homes as the major road linking the areas continues to deteriorate. The worsening condition of the road, they lament, is crippling local businesses and making daily life unbearable.
Their outcry comes despite Governor Dapo Abiodun’s claim that his administration has completed 22 kilometres of the road connecting Ijoko, Agbado, and Alagbole.
A oguntoday metro correspondent who visited the area on Monday found that the road, stretching from the Lateef Jakande Train Station in Agbado to Abule-Ijoko, was in a deplorable state. Sections after the abandoned overhead bridge at Agbado, inward Opeilu, were overgrown with weeds and covered in mud. The few stretches still bearing asphalt were riddled with potholes, making driving nearly impossible.
Large portions of the road were completely impassable, forcing motorcyclists to create dangerous alternative paths close to the train tracks a risky move that could be disastrous in the event of a derailment.
Residents told Ogun today Metro that the poor state of the road has worsened flooding in the area, as stagnant water now blocks drainage routes.
One motorcyclist, who requested anonymity because he belongs to a transport union, said his motorcycle had deteriorated rapidly from constant use on the bad road. According to him, many homeowners have abandoned their properties to live as tenants in nearby Lagos State.
“This road has been terrible for nearly ten years,” he said. “It’s now impassable from Agbado to Abule. People are selling their homes and cars just to move out. Transporters like us hardly make money anymore because passengers are leaving.”
Another resident, Abayomi Oshodi of the Itoki community, said the road was once passable but began to collapse when contractors arrived claiming they had been instructed to grade it. “There’s no drainage on either side, and when it rains, everything floods,” he said. “We’ve written several letters to the government with no response. We even tried fixing parts ourselves with granite, but the workers who came later dug it all up again.”
Oshodi added that many traders have shut their shops and relocated. “The few still around barely make sales,” he said.
A youth leader in the nearby Gasline area, Hakeem Raji, confirmed that businesses were suffering as residents continued to move away. Trader Deborah Olubunmi also complained that while sales have dropped, local government officials still collect taxes and levies from them.
“Okada riders hardly come here anymore because of the road,” she said. “Even when they agree, they stop halfway and we have to walk home. Yet government officials still demand taxes from us.”
Another resident, Dayo Olukotun, noted that transport fares had soared as a result of the bad road, forcing many to trek long distances to save money.
Efforts to reach the Ogun State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, were unsuccessful as calls and messages sent to his line went unanswered.
ICYMI
Meanwhile, Governor Dapo Abiodun, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, attributed the poor condition of many state roads to the neglect of past administrations. He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to infrastructure development, insisting that ongoing projects across the three senatorial districts would ensure balanced growth.
“No part of Ogun State will be left behind in our drive for inclusive development,” Abiodun said. “Many of these roads were already in bad shape long before we came into office in 2019, and we have since turned several of them into active construction sites.”
