By Yemi Sodeeq, The Informant247
Between 2019 and 2020, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing released over N200 million to four different companies for the construction and rehabilitation of an access road in Oyo state.
The Informant247’s Yemi Sodeeq reports that despite these releases, the road – from Iresaadu through Igboaka to Onipanu in Surulere local government area – still remains in a deplorable state.
A breakdown of the money released for the construction of the road includes a sum of N51 million to Premier Stone-cracks Nigeria limited in June 2019, and another N51 million in October that year.
Then N53 million was released in November 2019 to Work Bricks Concept limited for the rehabilitation of the same road.
Over the next month on December 3, 2019, N50 million was released to Samchase Nigeria Limited for the rehabilitation of the road.
Then in May 2020, Mecano Integrated Concepts Limited received N51 million for the amendment, re-construction of culverts, drainages and reinstatement of damaged parts of the same road by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
But investigations by The Informant247 revealed that Premier Stone-cracks Nigeria Limited did not qualify for the contract because it was registered by the Corporate Affirs Commission in September 2018.
The contract, however, was awarded to the company a year after incorporation without evidence of three-year tax clearance required by the procurement law for any federal government contractors.
Similarly, while Work Bricks Concept Limited was also inactive according to the search on the CAC website. It also fails the test of the statutory requirements for awarding of contract as it was incorporated on October 9, 2019.
The following month after incorporation, the company obtained the contract for the rehabilitation of the road.
For both Samchase Nigeria limited, incorporated in 1987 and Mecano Integrated Concepts Limited, incorporated in 2015, their status is inactive, according to CAC.
Mecano Integrated Concepts limited had 12 directors, including Engineer Michael Ayuba Auta who seemed to be the candidate of the Labour Party for the Kaduna South Senatorial District in the 2023 general elections.
The Informat247 could not reach any of the companies for comment.
A freedom of information request was sent to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola. In acknowledging the letter, the ministry promised to respond to the request but never did so after several weeks.
Farmers And Motorists Face Hardship On The Road
One key factor that scares people from farming is bad road networks in rural communities like that of Iresaadu-Igboaka-Onipanu.
Describing agriculture as the backbone of the Nigerian economy, President Muhammadu Buhari had urged more Nigerian youth to get involved in agriculture to diversify the nation’s economy and end overreliance on oil.
But youth like Peter Benjamin is disappointed by the road to Igboaka, the community which is 20km from Ogbomoso.
Igboaka is one of the villages that is greatly affected by the deplorable condition of the road that connects villages like Eleko, Alaparun, Somoroki, Ogojo, and Onipaanu-making it an all-time important asset to the agricultural activities the people of the area are known for.
“It is always difficult to pass the road, especially during the rainy season,” Benjamin said. “Our clothes get dirty and we can’t move freely- even the holes that erosion has created during the rainy season will also make the road unbearable in the dry season.”
According to Benjamin, only motorcycles can partly maneuver their way through the sketches of holes and ridges-like nature of the road. He added that previous attempts by vehicles loaded with agricultural produce to ply that road have always been a difficult experience.
Benjamin’s father, Peter Egbodo recalled some of his personal losses on the road including a fatal accident he witnessed on the road some years ago.
“It is always difficult for motor to pass the road during the rainy season,” he said. “I remember that there was a time we suffered a loss of about N100,000 due to the fact the motor cannot transport our harvests.”
In Somoroki village, farmers face the same problem of bad road. Sunday Akande, a farmer, lamented the state of the road and reeled out countless challenges the locals are facing.
Akande said the first and last intervention on the road was when it was only filled with sand and asphaltic water sprayed on it. The road has however since then gone from bad to worse as one can only pick up the bits of the granites used during the time.
“The road is bad,” Akande said. “The community had to resort to informal ways to make it passable a bit by using hoes to open up some spaces to give way for the free flow of water when it rains. Most times, our vehicles got stuck on the road while taking our farm products to the market.”
The Village Head of Ogojo, Chief Okelana Sunday Olajide, who also lamented the condition of the road and its impact on his community, recalled that the road was first nominated for construction by a former Senator representing Oyo State Central Senatorial District Senator Ayoade Adeseun.
“This road was done some 14 years ago during the time Senator Adeseun was an Honorable member of the lower chamber,” he said. “However, it wasn’t until a year after that that it got spoiled. Then they mobilized back to the site to grade and add granite and asphaltic water to it. I could remember that the sand they used for the project was even packed from my land here in Ogojo.”
Chief Olajide said he was aware the federal government awarded contract for the road rehabilitation but he had yet to see any work done on it since then.
He pointed out that the local government authorities had also turned deaf ears to their plea for intervention.
“This road has affected us in many ways including the lives of the people living around here. We are also at the mercy of ‘quack doctors’ for treatment when we are unable to go to government-approved hospitals due to the bad road. A journey that shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes now extends to more than an hour,” Chief Olajide said.
“The problem we have in this country is if a contractor does something wrong, once he is able to bribe his way out, that is all. It will be the last thing you hear about it.”
This report was published with support from Civic Media Lab.