Public officials serving under the administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo were present as Member of House Representatives for Yagba Federal Constituency, Hon. Leke Abejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) yesterday performed the ground breaking of the 57.2 kilometres road construction from Igbagun to Ijowa in Yagba East Local Government Area, Kogi State.
The public officials who were present for the flag-off ceremony are the Secretary to Kogi State Government (SSG), Folashade Ayoade PhD., Yagba East Council Chairman, Hon. Joshua Dare Monday, state and local government government officials and traditional rulers, among others held in Igbagun, the starting point of the project.
The road is designed to be constructed with asphalt, and will stretch through 10 communities which will translate to the opening up the economies of 15 communities with quality able to last fornabout 30 years.
The project, funded by the federal government and embedded in the 2025 budget at the cost of N60 billion, was facilitated by Abejide.
The areas to be covered include Igbagun, Alu, Oranre, Ife-Olukotun, Ponyon, Agimi, Jege, Ejuku, Imela, Takete-Ishao and Ijowa-Isanlu communities.
“Until when I won my first term election in 2019, the road from Omuo-Oke to Igbagun was impassable, but today it is history. Today, I am also flagging off this road for construction. This road is 57.2 kilometres, therefore, it is not a child play but indeed a legacy project that by God grace, when completed, is going to open up the economy of 15 communities. The road has never been asphalted before. This is going to be the first time. Long ago, surface dressing was done on the road, during the time of former Governor Ibrahim Idris. Once done according to certification, we should not be thinking of road construction (on the same road) in 30 years, at most, maintenance”, he said.
He added that, “The project is going to take us about three to four years, because it is a long stretch. And due to the huge cost implications, due to today’s realities, the estimated cost of the project is about N60billion”.
Responding to questions from journalists, he said the project is federal government funded. However, he noted that not only was the project facilitated by him but he also ensured it was captured in the budget and funds provided for execution.
“Last year it was in the budget but the money there was not enough. Last year, 2024, we got M5.2bn but this year we got N15bn fund. That’s about 20.2bn. It can go a long way out of the 60bn budgeted. Hopefully, in three years, we will get there”, he said.
He added: “My sincere appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for touching our lives especially in our locality through this huge project.” The Ejuku township road is the most difficult to pass through, I tried to rehabilitate the road two years ago but due to financial constraints, the target was not met. This time, about 5.2km stretch of Ejuku township road will be flagged off to reduce the distance of Igbagun-Ijowa construction to about 52.2 kilometres so that the road can be completed in record time.
In December, 2024 we flagged off Isanlu townhall road and the work is in progress. By April 2025, the road will be commissioned. We have more road projects in Yagba West, especially Odo Ere-Igbaruku-Omi-Odo-Ara- Ogga-Ogbom road through Jege, which has been captured in the 2025 budget and it is to cost about N4bn. Ogbe to Egbe road will be properly bullozed and compacted at the appropriate time, while Egbe-Okoloke-Isanlu-Esa-Okunran road is another major construction project that requires proper attention for complete construction not maintenance. In Mopamuro, the Okeagi-Ilai and Orokere-Takete-Ide road will be looked into, to know the actual kilometres and plan for it. These are projects that will take years to be completed, therefore, I appeal to political merchants to allow me concentrate on what I know best, which is superlative performance in delivering dividends of democracy to the good people of Yagba Federal Constituency”.
He appealed to his constituents to play down the politics of 2027, while allowing him to concentrate on the delivery of the dividends of democracy to them, halfway into his current term in the Green Chamber. Specifically, he admonished those he referred to as “political merchants” to redirect their energies to a more profitable ventures and stop distracting him with 2027 election in 2025.
He said, “My focus during this second term is how to connect roads, especially roads that link communities while rural roads will only be bulldozed and graded possibly surface dressing. I therefore appeal to political merchants to engage in productive activities rather than bringing distractions.
My politics is rooted on how to make life better for the people of Yagba Federal Constituency, not for personal aggrandizement like they see politics, when the time comes to play politics, we shall play it to the amelioration of everybody”.