A development expert and Chief Executive Officer of Global Development Initiatives (GDI), Engr. Michael Ale, has sounded the alarm over the worsening condition of federal roads in Ekiti State, warning that the deteriorating infrastructure is increasingly crippling communities, businesses and rural livelihoods.
Ale singled out the Ado-Ekiti–Ifaki–Ayegbaju–Ilupeju corridor, describing it as a strategic economic route connecting the South-West to Abuja and other parts of Nigeria.
He said the route carries significant commercial traffic, including trucks conveying goods across the country, stressing that its continued neglect could have wider implications for Nigeria’s economic development.
His concerns followed another disruption on the road on Wednesday, September 9, when a truck reportedly fell across the highway at the Ayegbaju axis, triggering hours of gridlock and leaving motorists and commuters in distress.
The latest incident came barely two weeks after another major traffic crisis on the same corridor, when erosion and huge potholes reportedly brought movement to a standstill for almost a week around the Oye–Ilupeju section.
Ale said the repeated crises had exposed the economic and human cost of leaving the highway in its current condition.
He noted that motorists had previously spent days trapped on the road, while others were forced to turn back and take longer alternative routes, resulting in financial losses, delayed journeys and emotional trauma.
The development expert also expressed concern about the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), located along the route, saying students and staff were particularly vulnerable to the consequences of the road’s poor condition.
He further alleged that avoidable accidents on the axis had claimed the lives of students and members of neighbouring communities.
In a statement made available to journalists in Lagos on Thursday, Ale appealed directly to the Federal Government to treat the rehabilitation of the road as an emergency.
He said a functional road network was essential to sustaining commercial and development activities, particularly along a corridor linking the western and eastern parts of the country with the Federal Capital Territory.
Ale called on President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the Minister of Works to urgently rehabilitate the Ado-Ekiti–Ifaki–Ilupeju axis and end what he described as a recurring cycle of gridlock, accidents and economic losses.
While praising the Federal Government for work on the Ibadan–Ado-Akure axis and the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road, he urged the administration not to overlook other critical federal roads in Ekiti.
He said fixing the affected roads would not only ease the suffering of commuters but also restore economic activity and unlock the development potential of communities along the corridor.
