By Oludamisi Ojo
President Muhammadu Buhari 22-kilometre has said that his government has been engaging in aggressive road infrastructure across the country to enhance the ease of doing business by investors and tackle the pervasive poverty that is ravaging the citizens.

Buhari spoke in Efon Alaaye, Efon Local Government Area of Ekiti State, yesterday while commissioning a km Efon Alaaye-Iwaraja – Erinmo road constructed by his administration.

The President, represented by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo, advised Nigerians to maintain 100km per hour while driving on highways as a safety measure.

Buhari said the completion of the road further reinforced the commitment of his administration to improving road transport infrastructure, the ease of doing business, and as well create jobs and prosperity that can lift the people out of poverty.

“Accordingly, for the avoidance of any doubt, I wish to reiterate the maximum driving speed on this and other Federal Highways nationwide. We want you alive to witness and be part of the prosperity and promise of Nigeria.

“We can confidently say that as we enter the final lap of the tenure of the Buhari’s administration, we are also entering a season of completion and delivery of projects.

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As you can all see, we are handing over today 22 Kilometer Road, which links the three towns of Efon Alaaye in Ekiti State and Erinmo and Iwaraja in Osun State.

“By linking Ekiti and Osun States together, this road becomes a critical component of our national road network. This road has been built to the highest quality of design and if it is well used and not abused, it should last for the designed service life.

“Road abuse takes many forms such as overloading, over speeding, pavement damage, spilling of petroleum products, which dissolves all the components and allows water to penetrate and converting the road shoulders to permanent parking places, that brings the road failure from the shoulder.

“We must all do our best to avoid these practices, report them when they occur, and act lawfully to stop them”, he said.

The Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, represented by the Director of Area Highways, Southwest, Engr. Adedamola Kuti said the Ekiti and Osun States will enjoy an economical boost with the completion of the road.

Fashola said: “This road represents a major investment in road infrastructure. They are visible and incontrovertible assets Nigerians are interested in. We will continue to embark on innovative action to ensure that we source money to construct more roads for the use of Nigerians.

“Let me thank all the host communities for their collaboration and strong partnership in the delivery of the project. Road signs were put on many of these roads to reduce carnage and accidents, but you know the attitudes of our people, they had been removed”.

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Also speaking, the Director of the KOPEK Construction Company, Mr. Issam Feghali, said the road was awarded to the firm by the federal government in 2019, at the cost of N4 billion.

He expressed commitment that road would not only improve transportation but would boost the economic potentials of the towns around that axis.

Feghali appreciated the host community for providing security and other needed impetus to be able to complete the projects in record time.

He also lauded the Minister of Works and Housing for showing commitment in terms of payment and in partnering with the host community of Efon to provide security, accommodation, and other things we required to deliver