‘They may take 20 years to finish’ — Makinde speaks on Ibadan road contract termination

Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, has explained why his administration terminated the agreement with the contractor handling the 32-kilometre circular road in Ibadan, the state capital.

The state had asked the contractor to leave the project site in February.

Citing slow pace of work as the reason for the decision, the governor also said he will refund the financial commitment already expended on the project by the contractor.

According to a statement on Wednesday by Taiwo Adisa, chief press secretary to the governor, Makinde also promised that the road will be completed before May 28, 2023.

“We have terminated the initial arrangement. This is the road that we think will change the economy of Oyo state substantially. But the previous contractor, if we had continued with their pace, maybe they may finish in another 20 years,” Makinde was quoted to have said.

“Now, we are asking them to do joint valuation because we are not here to destroy anyone’s business. Of course, money has been spent and we have to ensure that whatever has been put into this, we will reimburse the previous contractor.

“So, we have an appreciation of what we need to do to ensure that this kicks off almost immediately and then it can meet our target.”

He also faulted the concession agreement initiated by the past administration of the late Abiola Ajimobi, former governor of Oyo, adding that a new arrangement will be made that will ensure the state’s involvement.

“This 32km portion must be delivered within this first tenure of this administration. We are still going to concession it, because the previous administration left it 100 percent to the concessionaire, which we thought was a mistake,” the statement reads.

“We definitely will have some form of involvement of the Oyo state government with a new concessionaire. We will take certain percentage for the state government and, that way, the government is carried along every step of the way.”