Date: 2017-05-29

Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has directed the immediate construction of a single span bridge to replace the collapsed culvert at Alagbado, Ilorin.

Governor Ahmed also directed the reconstruction of the 100m span of Zango-Akerebiata Road, Ilorin which was swept off by flood last Friday.

Alhaji Ahmed gave the directive on Sunday while inspecting both flood-damaged roads in Ilorin.

He directed that the Bill of Engineering Measurements for both constructions should be submitted to him on Monday for approval and immediate funding while palliatives are on-going.

Accompanied by the State Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Aro Yahaya and other government officials, a visibly upset Alhaji Ahmed blamed on the Zango-Akerebiata Road flooding on the construction of a fuel station across the drainage located by the road which led to its blockage and subsequent flooding.

Governor Ahmed said reconstructing the road, which his administration completed, will be expensive but necessary due to its strategic importance in the Kulende area.

He summoned the owner of the fuel station to his office to explain his action, stressing that government will consider sealing the facility unless the obstruction of the drainage is removed.

Speaking on the damage, Alhaji Gata, a community leader, commended Governor Ahmed for personally visiting the site and assessing the damage, stressing that residents had complained severally to the fuel station's owner about the blockage in the past to no avail.

At the Alagbado Road, whose culvert was also swept off, Alhaji Ahmed urged residents to desist from dumping refuse into rivers and drainages to avoid flooding as this could result in serious damages to property and loss of lives.

He assured residents of both areas that government will do everything in its powers to restore the roads, especially Alagbado Road as it links the area to the Sobi Specialist Hospital.