Nigeria: Ekiti monarch calls FG's attention to deplorable state of roads

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The Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, has called the attention of the federal government to the deplorable conditions of roads leading to the state capital from other neighbouring states.

The first-class traditional ruler explained that the federal roads from Ilesha in Osun down to Ado and Akure to the Ekiti state capital are posing hardship to travellers and commuters.

Oba Adejugbe stated these on Thursday while speaking to newsmen ahead of this year’s Udiroko festival in Ado-Ekiti, which has been scheduled for August 21, 2024.

He revealed that the annual Udiroko festival was conceptualised by the forefathers of the ancient community to offer prayers and supplications to God for the sustained peace being witnessed in the state capital.

Ewi added that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; the chairman of the Senate Committee of Appropriations, Senator Adeola Olamilekan; and the senate leader and senator representing Ekiti Central, Opeyemi Bamidele, would lead the National Assembly delegations to the festival.

According to him, apart from their presence at the event, he extended invitations and secured their commitment to come so they could experience the poor conditions of the roads in the state.

Oba Adejugbe said, “Everybody wants development, but it is when you cry to the authorities that they will answer. There is no befitting road leading to Ado from the neighbouring states of Osun and Ondo.

“I raised this issue when President Buhari visited my palace and also when former minister of works Babatunde Fashola came here, which led to some attention being paid to the Ado-Akure road.

“Apart from their presence to add glamour to the 2024 Udiroko festival, I went to Abuja to invite the senate president and other principal officials of the National Assembly to see our plight in terms of roads.

“As they will be coming next week for the Udiroko, I have asked them to travel by road to Ado-Ekiti when they land in Akure airport for them to see the poor conditions of the road leading to Ekiti to help us amplify it to the federal government.

“The state government can’t do it alone, and that is our own effort at assisting the government; it is not about Ado but the entire Ekiti state.”

The traditional ruler noted that this year’s festival has been designed to capture the tradition and culture of the community, making it acceptable and celebrated across the world.

“Every year at the Udiroko festival, we thank God for bringing our forefathers here. It’s an opportunity for us to thank God, just as Christians thank God on Christmas Day, and also to offer prayers for peace in our community, state, and country, as directed by our forefathers,” he said.