Residents of Okolowo in Ilorin, Kwara State, have renewed urgent calls for life-saving interventions on the Okolowo Expressway following years of recurring road accidents that have claimed numerous lives.

At a stakeholders' meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Works office in Ilorin, community leaders, transport unions, civil society organisations, and government officials jointly appealed to the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, to approve the construction of speed breakers or a pedestrian bridge along the hazardous corridor.

Emotional testimonies from residents highlighted the devastating human toll of inaction, with many recounting personal losses and shattered families.

Representatives of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) stressed that the lack of safety infrastructure has turned the expressway into a death trap for commuters and pedestrians alike.

ENetSuD, an anti-corruption civil society group, added that bureaucratic delays must not be allowed to cost more lives, urging swift federal intervention to protect vulnerable road users.

The stakeholders called for immediate action to make the motorway safer for all.

Stakeholders recalled that speed breakers erected earlier by the Kwara State Ministry of Works had drastically reduced crashes but were later removed by the Federal Ministry because they lacked ministerial approval.

"The community cannot wait any longer. Every week we record deaths. We need the intervention of the Minister of Works now," one community leader said during the meeting.

The Kwara State Ministry of Works, represented by Engr M.A. Akanbi, reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Federal Government but noted that only the minister has the power to authorise such projects. The Federal Controller of Works, Engr. Gana Zhitsu, also made it clear that contractors would be held liable if unauthorised structures are built.

The meeting, facilitated by ENetSuD's Deputy Coordinator, Comrade Mashood Lanre Osho, ended with a collective resolution: Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Senator Sadiq Umar, and Hon. Yinka Aluko must immediately lobby the minister to save lives.

"The Minister's approval is our only hope," Osho stressed, calling for the pedestrian bridge to be included in lawmakers' constituency projects.

For the Okolowo community, the demand is simple but urgent: build the pedestrian bridge or speed breakers now before more lives are lost.