By Adams Akorede
Residents of Olojuoro in Oluyole local government area of Oyo State on Thursday erupted in wild jubilation after a federal Lawmaker, representing Oluyole Federal Constituency, Hon. Tolu Akande-Sadipe waded into a misunderstanding between the contractor, handling Olomi-Olodo-Ijebu-igbo road, D.C Engineering Ltd. and the Olojuoro Road Joint community forum, in Ibadan.
Frosty relationship between D.C Eng. Ltd. and the Joint Community Forum, consisting of fourteen (14) communities took a twist when Executives of the Forum wrote series of petitions against the firm to Federal Ministry of Works and Transport, Abuja and the House of Representatives accusing it of refusal to speed up work on the deplorable road.
It also alleged the contractor of constructing narrow drainages that could cause erosion in the community among other allegations.
The petition attracted the attention of the lawmaker who immediately called for truce and held a round table meeting with the aggrieved parties.
At the peace meeting held on Thursday, at Olomi, Ibadan, Akande-Sadipe, who is also the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, promised her unwavering support to guarantee speedy completion of the road, which she described as one of the foremost projects on her checklist.
She noted that the essence of the meeting was to find essential solutions to the brewing misunderstanding between the community and the firm on site and ensure the road which has been under construction in the Community since 2018 becomes motorable before 2023.
She promised to scrutinize the Engineering firm handling the site’s Bill of Quantity, scope of work and contractual agreement signed with the Federal Ministry of Works, Abuja.
This, she said would bring her up to speed with happenings about the road and ensure the firm executes the job according to the agreed terms with Federal Government.
“We will ensure we look into the scope of work being executed by D.C Engineering Limited and address every form of dissatisfaction listed by the Community in their petition, which was made available to our office”, she said.
Akande-Sadipe however commended DC Engineering ltd. and Olojuoro-road Joint Community Forum for agreeing to resolve the ‘crisis’, which she noted was in the best interest of all stakeholders.
While Akande-Sadipe assured the Community that the firm would not shy away from its responsibility in delivering a motorable road to the community.
“Participating in dialogue with concerned parties would fast help us on this issue. I got to know about the community’s petition, because my office was copied. While I commend the community for agreeing to meet at this roundtable meeting, I assure you that D.C Eng. Ltd would play its part in ensuring this road sees the light of the day.
Representative of D.C Engineering ltd. Engr. Obafemi Olusola expressed the company’s readiness to adjust and intensify efforts at speedily providing access to the long-awaited infrastructure, noting that this has always been the cardinal policy of the company.
Mr. Tajudeen Ahmed, who spoke on behalf of Olojuoro road Joint Community Forum, described Akande-Sadipe as a responsive representative and appreciated her concerted efforts.
He also expressed hopes that with her intervention, the road would soon be completed.
