At last, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has granted approval to the Federal Ministry of Works to award contract for the reconstruction of the deplorable and abandoned Ilorin-Kabba highway.

The go ahead directive was said to have been secured by the Minister of Works, Chief Mike Onolememen following his memo to the council drawing the attention  of government to the state of deplorable condition of the road.

The memo of the Minister was said to have been backed by a high power lobby team put in place by stakeholders from Kwara and Kogi States to lobby the Presidency to give the trunk A road its deserved attention.

The lobby team was said to have been headed by Senator Smart Afolabi Adeyemi representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Senate.

Deputy Director of highway in the Federal Ministry of Works, Abuja Engineer Ekenna Umunna confirmed the receipt of approval to begin the process of the road contract award by the Minster.

He said that bids would be called for immediately from interested contractors who will have wherewithal for such a gigantic road work.

The Director disclosed that in order to make the contract award fast, the officials of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) would be deeply involved in order to make the process hitch free and transparent.

He assured the people of Kwara and Kogi States that the road would soon bounce back to life to ease the transportation crisis facing them.

President Goodluck Jonathan had last year directed the Minister to patch all the potholes on the road as a temporary measure in order to make it motorable for travelers during last year's yuletide.

The Ilorin-Kabba road said to be one of the worst highways in the country due to its deplorable condition had been abandoned for over 10 years now by the commercial and private motorists who now ply Ekiti route to pass to Abuja.

Onolememen said that the road would be rehabilitated along with other identified bad highways by his Ministry in compliance with the Presidential directive.

The Deputy Director told newsmen while fielding questions that a team of experts would be dispatched to carry out the immediate assessment of the deplorable condition of the road in order to determine the level of works expected to be carried out.

He said experts from Abuja would work hand in hand with the highway maintenance sections in Kogi and Kwara State in order to facilitate early turning in of report of advice.

He also disclosed that a big time contractor might be employed to carry out the work because of the urgency and the magnitude of work and heavy equipment that might be required.

The Minister who could not ascertain how much the work would cost the Federal Government assured that the road would be ready for use by the motorists on time adding that a general overhaul of asphalt on the road would be carried out in the contract.

The Kwara and Kogi State governments have on several occasions appealed to the Federal Government to repair the road because of its importance to the socio economic progress of the two states and indeed the country.