Communities in the Akure North local government area of Ondo on Monday protested against the unmotorable roads in their areas.

The protesting communities were Graceland Estate, Grace Garden City, God’s Ownland and Bethel Estate, all located in the Oba-Ile area.

They appealed to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to urgently come to their aid by fixing the roads.

The protesting residents carried various placards with inscriptions ‘We Are communities of Over 3,000 Families. We Need Roads Urgently. Mr Gov. A Wa Lokan’; ‘Our Cars Are Crying For Help! Aketi Please, Come to Our Rescue’; ‘and Aketi, We Are 4 You. Let US Be Part Of The Giant Strides In Road Networks In Ondo State’.

While addressing journalists during the peaceful protest, Martins Popoola, chairman of Graceland Estate, explained that for the past 10 years, the residents had resorted to self-help by contributing money to maintain the roads without help from the Ondo government.

Mr Popoola, who said the residents were aware that Mr Akeredolu was improving infrastructure, especially roads across the state, said if the governor fixed the bad roads, they could decongest and reduce pressure on the road linking the airport.

“We have heard that he has approved the reconstruction of the roads but that there are no funds to back the approval. We are begging him to take money out of no money“, as he has done in other places, to please fix the roads,” the spokesman for the protesting communities stated. “We are expanding every day. It is the road that is holding us back. This road is very important to our lives and property. Property values would have doubled if not for the bad roads.”

Also speaking, Oladele Aliu, the chairman of God’s Ownland, appealed to the Ondo government to fix the roads in their communities to improve the residents’ living standards.

“Mr Governor has been doing major roads across the state, especially in places such as Ikare-Akoko, Okitipupa, Akure and Owo, among others. He has been christened ‘Mr Talk-And-Do’ while in some quarters, he is known as ‘Mr Project’. Now it is our time to be rescued from the bad roads in our communities,” Mr Aliu said.

Kafayat Musa, another resident, said the roads had caused her backaches, while her sister-in-law had been ill for two weeks due to the bad roads they ply every day.

Victor Ajimuda, also a resident, lamented the roads were unmotorable in the communities.

“We are pleading with Mr Governor to come to our assistance and help us fix these roads because our cars are going bad daily, and things are getting very expensive,” Mr Ajimuda said. 

(NAN)