MISSING? Remaining 5km stretch Ogbomoso – Oyo new highway not in 2025 FG road budget!
Khalid ABRAHAM
As the new year 2025 gains momentum plans are being unfolded at different levels of governments with the aim of turning the country around in critical sectors.
One of such areas of interest is infrastructure particularly road construction and rehabilitation.
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However, news emanating from the Ministry of Works indicate that the much-talked about new Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomoso-Ilorin double-carriageway, which has been under construction since 2001, might after all not be in the 2025 Federal Government budget.
In a news highlight sourced by Ogbomoso Insight in Nairametrics, while several road projects across the country are captured in the budget which would soon be passed, the Ibadan – Ilorin new road is not listed even though the remaining stretch of the road is less than 7km in the Ogbomoso axis (this is from Arinkinkin to Federal Government College in the city).
Those who awarded the contract for the road in 2001 were driven by good intentions looking at the importance of the road in Nigeria’s socio-economic development. The road is a major link between the northern and southwestern parts of the country through which goods – manufactured and food items – are transported. Cut it off and the country’s economy will suffer massively lunging towards grounding. The old road whose construction started in about 1913 had undoubtedly served its purpose and aside becoming inadequate in the face of large volume of goods and human movements on it against grounding of railway, it has become a death trap, daily sucking blood like some demons.
But more than 20 years on the new road is yet to be completed, thereby exposing travellers and the people of Ogbomoso especially (where travellers still have to pass using the old road) to enormous danger.
Several appeals have been made for the completion of the road to no avail.
Meanwhile, hopes were high this year would see the completion of the road moreover when on more than one occasions the incumbent Minister for Works David Umahi gave words the project would be completed, he had even visited the site.
However, a news item monitored on Nairametrics did not include the road in the 2025 budget.
According to Nairametrics, N15 billion is allocated for the dualization of the Benin-Akure-Ilesha road, a new infrastructure project covering a total length of 150.7 kilometers.
This initiative, it is reported, is part of the Ministry of Works’ budget within the proposed N49.74 trillion 2025 budget. The project will involve two phases: Phase I to focus on rehabilitating the existing Benin-Akure road, while Phase II will add a new lane to the existing carriageway.
This allocation is detailed in the 2025 Federal Government Final Budget Proposal.
Another is the N15 billion allocated for the rehabilitation of failed sections of the Bauchi-Jigawa state border road, aimed at improving critical transportation links in the region.
Another major allocation is the N11 billion set aside for the reconstruction of the Shagamu-Ore road, a 96-kilometer route connecting Ondo and Ogun states. The N10.45 billion allocated for the dualization of the Akure-Ilesha road, spanning 66.15 kilometers, is also a significant part of the budget.
Furthermore, N9 billion has been earmarked for the construction of the Ukana-Ikot-Ntuen road in Akwa Ibom state, while N8 billion will go toward the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Abeokuta road, enhancing the key transport corridor between Lagos and Ogun states.
Additional significant allocations include N8 billion for the construction of the Abak-Ekparakwa-Ete-Ikot-Abasi highway in Akwa Ibom state.
N7 billion will be invested in the construction of the Ugep road in Cross River state, and N6 billion will be used for the construction of the Oferekpe bridge, improving connectivity between Cross River and Ebonyi states.
Similarly, N6 billion has been allocated for the rehabilitation and dualization of the Ado-Ekiti-Afe Babalola University road, spanning 30.55 kilometers, and N5 billion for the construction of the Illara-Isolu road, which will enhance regional transport.
N4 billion has been allocated for the construction of a 23-span flyover bridge at Eke-Obinagu junction along the Enugu-Abakaliki road, and N4 billion will be used for the rehabilitation of Ogunusi Road in Ikeja, Lagos.
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Additionally, N3 billion will go toward the dualization of the Abakaliki-Afikpo road, including flyover works, and N8 billion has been allocated for the construction of the Benin-Agbo road, improving access to Benin City.
These are just some of the new infrastructure projects that have received allocations in the 2025 budget for the Ministry of Works.
What you should know
In September 2024, Minister of Works David Umahi announced that the Federal Government would prioritize the completion of four key road projects per geopolitical zone in 2025, focusing on finalizing ongoing initiatives rather than launching new ones.
This decision, Umahi explained, is a response to economic challenges, including inflation, the naira’s devaluation, and the removal of fuel subsidies, all of which have significantly increased infrastructure costs.
Umahi further pointed out that the Tinubu administration inherited 2,600 road projects valued at N13 trillion, emphasizing the need to streamline resources and focus on completing four major projects per zone to ensure the efficient delivery of critical infrastructure.
However, a review of the 2025 Federal Government Final Budget Proposal reveals a different picture. Despite Umahi’s statements, the documents indicate allocations for several new projects, in addition to ongoing ones, suggesting that the government’s approach includes both new and continuing infrastructure developments.
