There was jubilation in Iluomoba-Ekiti, Ekiti South Local Government Area.of Ekiti State, when a leading Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) governorship aspirant for the 2026 election in the state, Otunba Emmanuel Fayose, rehabilitated the dilapidated portions on Ijan-Iluomoba-Ekiti road for easy movement of humans, goods and services.
The people of Ijan and Iluomoba communities as well as motorists and commuters showered encomiums on Fayose, saying his intervention has brought great relief to them.
Registering his displeasure over the alleged abandonment of the road by the state and federal governments, Fayose stated that the dilapidated federal Ado-Ijan-Iluomoba road has over the months brought endless nightmare and pains to the people of the communities and travellers.
The deteriorating state of the road has made it impassable causing hundreds of trailers, trucks and other vehicles to be stranded for days on the road.
The governorship aspirant said he was disappointed when he passed through the road on his way down to Ekiti State from Abuja on Wednesday.
The situation which he described as worrisome, prompted him to use his personal resources to provide trucks of hardcore stones to fill up the bad portions on the axis to easy accessibility.
Speaking in Iluomoba-Ekiti while filling up the bad portions of the roads, Fayose said, “I was traveling from Abuja yesterday, I decided to come by road for a change in other to feel what the common man is feeling and just discovered that the road is very bad. On getting to Iluomoba Ekiti, I realised that the road was very very bad, there were many trucks, buses and cars stuck in the road and cannot move.
“When I alighted from my car to view the seen, I realised that some of the drivers and passengers have been sleeping there for weeks, sleeping on the floor with mosquitoes biting them and without being able to reunite with there families.
“Moved by the ugly situation, I promised to fix the road so that it can be accessible by road users and it is this promise that I have come to fullfil today. We are not government but just to help the road users with the available chicken change in our own little way,” he said
The Ado-Ijan-Ilumoba road is one of the most deplorable federal roads in the state, having been taking over by wide holes and gullies making navigation along the road difficult on daily basis. With the significant role it plays as the link road to Kogi State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, it is expected to be given proper attention by both the state and the federal governments.
The ICT guru and Artificial Intelligence (AI) specialist appealed to the federal government to treat as urgent the approval of the rehabilitation of the Ado- Ijan-Iluomoba road and other federal roads in the state.
The party chieftain who said that it is unfair and unjust for the state government to pretend not to know the bad state of the road and the hardship the users are going through, urged the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, to consider the plight of citizens and ensure that the roads are passable to reduce the hardship experienced by motorists and commuters.
” In Ekiti, we don’t have roads, our airport is under key and locked, no electricity, it is quite unfortunate if you come through Abuja like you can see, the road is bad, if you come through Aramoko it is the same thing, same story everywhere.
“We are not animals, the State Government have been insensitive to what common man is feeling, this is really unacceptable, the Federal Government should come to our aid.
“I am using this medium to appeal to our President, His Excellency, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu to look into.our situation in Ekiti State, our people are suffering, there is hunger in the land, our youths are riding okada, no job, no electricity, just like we are in the jungle yet we have allocations every month.
“I don’t think we have a government in Ekiti State because the situation has cause untold hardship to the people,” he said.
Traveling from Ado-Ekiti through Ijan- Iluomoba road is like going through the hell fire, said a commuter, who simply identified herself as Omolola. She said she has spent over three hours in the gridlock due to the bad state of the road. She praised Otunba Fayose’s initiative for making the road accessibie for road users through the gesture.
Also, a stranded truck driver from Plateau State, Isa Mohammed, said he has spent four days in the gridlock.
He said the road is too bad and appealed to the government to provide solutions because staying on the road for so long is very risky especially with the state of security in the country. He commended Otunba Fayose for the intervention saying, it is only God that can repay him for his gesture.
A resident of Iluomoba-Ekiti, Hon. Kayode Agbanigo, was also grateful to Otunba Emmanuel Fayose for coming to their rescue, noting all their pleas to the
state government about the road have not yielded any result.
“Emmanuel Fayose saw our sufferings, our troubles, he has only pitied us by bringing these trucks of stones to solve this problem, God will bless him,” he concluded.
