Ekiti to award 184km road contracts
The Coordinator of Ekiti State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, Sunday Adunmo, has promised more rural roads would be constructed in the state before the end of the year.
Adunmo said this when he received members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Food Security in his office in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
Adunmo said good rural roads played vital roles in enhancing food production and averting hunger and poverty,
He disclosed that “Ijero-Epe-Araromi-Iropora Road and Ikole-Ikoyi-Igbemo Road, totalling 32km, will be awarded for construction in a couple of weeks.
“Another 152km backlog maintenance/rehabilitation of rural roads is in the pipeline.”
Adunmo also disclosed that the engineering design for 450km of spot improvement was being done in preparation for the contract award.
He hoped that the seven contractors who got the N17bn contracts for the construction of 13 rural roads would deliver quality jobs within the stipulated 18-month delivery time.
The project coordinator said, “The contractors were aware RAAMP will not tolerate substandard work and will terminate contracts not meeting performance standards.
“The Projects Monitoring Committee of RAAMP, and relevant government agencies would visit your site to check your level of compliance with the agreement you signed.”
The Chairman of the Assembly committee, Abiodun Fawekun, said the visit was in line with the oversight function and assured that the assembly would provide necessary legislative support to fast-track the actualisation of the objectives of the RAAMP.
Fawekun, who noted that Ekiti people had waited for five years for the commencement of the project, said the state would record a major agricultural breakthrough if all the roads listed for intervention were constructed.
The lawmaker commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for providing counterpart funds for the project, adding, “The governor’s gesture is a demonstration of the commitment of his administration to its Agricultural and Rural Development agenda.”
