The Federal Government has commenced emergency palliative work on the damaged Oye-Ekiti/Ilupeju/Kabba road in Ekiti State, with the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, assuring motorists that efforts are underway to clear the traffic gridlock on the route within 48 hours.
The Nigerian Tribune had, in a report on Monday, detailed the plight of hundreds of articulated vehicles and trucks reportedly stranded for days along the Ifaki–Oye–Ilupeju axis as a result of the collapse of critical portions of the road, with motorists and other road users forced to endure prolonged delays and difficult travelling conditions.
Speaking on Tuesday, while inspecting the failed section of the road, alongside officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and other stakeholders, Goronyo expressed concern over the hardship faced by motorists and travellers who had been trapped on the highway for days.
The minister also inspected the Efon-Iwaraja road, where he ordered immediate remedial intervention on a failed section, saying the government would not allow critical federal highways to remain impassable for an extended period.
At the Ifaki-Oye-Ekiti-Ilupeju-Kabba axis, Goronyo described the road as an important economic link between the South-West and the North, stressing that its condition required urgent government action.
He disclosed that the rehabilitation contract was awarded to Gamji in 2025 and that the contractor had been mobilised, but was unable to continue work due to funding challenges.
The minister said the ministry would review the funding arrangement and ensure adequate mobilisation for the contractor to return to site.
Goronyo said the government had, in the meantime, activated emergency intervention through the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, with equipment and construction materials already deployed to the troubled section.
He added that plans are underway to expand the road to four kilometres in order to improve traffic flow and ease the movement of motorists along the corridor.
Appealing for patience from motorists and residents, the minister said the government is determined to restore the road to use as quickly as possible.
He further announced restrictions on the movement of articulated vehicles through the affected section from the Ifaki-Ekiti end while the palliative work lasted to prevent further deterioration and facilitate the intervention.
“We are deploying materials to this place and they should create a conducive atmosphere for the contractor to be able to do this work within 48 hours,” Goronyo said.
On the Efon-Iwaraja road, the minister said the immediate intervention was part of the Federal Government’s broader response to critical road failures across the country, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to improve road infrastructure and ensure smoother movement of people and goods.
Goronyo said the administration inherited about 26,000 road projects nationwide, many of which required varying degrees of intervention. He cited the Illela-Sokoto-Badagry highway, Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road, among the major projects receiving attention.
According to him, investment in road infrastructure remained critical to economic growth, security, agriculture, healthcare and employment generation, describing functional roads as a major driver of national prosperity.
According to him, “Once you have roads, you have security, you have employment generation, you have agriculture, you have healthcare. You have everything. Roads lead to prosperity.”
The minister said the Federal Government would continue to prioritise the completion of ongoing road projects and deploy resources to critical locations where road failures were causing severe hardship.
He added that he, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and other officials had spent the past week inspecting roads across the country to identify areas requiring urgent intervention.
“For the last one week, we have been crisscrossing the roads across the nation. We have met a difficult situation and we are fixing it,” Goronyo said, urging Nigerians to support Tinubu’s administration as it implements its road infrastructure agenda.