FG hailed as agric college, Ibadan road commissioned

By AKOR SYLVESTER-Abuja

The academic community of the Federal College of Agriculture (FCA), Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday commended the Federal Government as the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, officially commissioned and handed over to the institution an internal road rehabilitated by the Ministry.

The road, which links the administrative block, students’ hostels and the engineering department of the institution, previously suffered a failure due to “the inadequacy of the existing hydraulic structure to stop the over flow of water on the road leading to a major wash out which destroyed the road”.

Leading the trail of gratitude to the Federal Government for the intervention, the Provost of the College, Elizabeth Augustus, expressed appreciation over the rehabilitation noting that it has improved accessibility and ease of movement into and within the college in addition to beautifying the college premises.

According to the visibly elated Provost, “The road has been named “Centenary Road” in honour of the Centenary Celebration of the College because it came at a period the college needed to do something to add value to and boost the esteem of the college”.

She, however, appealed to the Federal Government to assist the college in constructing an entrance road to link the college from the main Abeokuta Road (Apata-Odo-Ona axis) saying the College has, at the moment, no entrance road of its own into the school, a situation, which, she added, “has resulted to the utilization of other available gates for college purposes”.

Also speaking, was the Dean of School of Engineering, Adeyinka Ilori, who while attesting to the quality of work done on the road, noted that all the materials used in the rehabilitation were of standard quality “to ensure durability of the asset” adding that the road would “still maintain its durability in the next twenty years”.

Senate President of the Students Union Government (SUG) of the institution, Comrade Afolabi Michael, while expressing gratitude to the Federal Government for the laudable gesture, declared, “The intervention has put an end to the several existing potholes that occurred as a result of the wash out on the road.”

In his address at the commissioning and handover ceremony, Fashola reiterated the aims and objectives of the Buhari administration in embarking on the Internal Road Rehabilitation Scheme in Federal Tertiary Institutions across the country saying it was first and foremost to enhance the quality of Education through upgrading of the schools’ infrastructure and environment and making it conducive for learning.

The Minister who was represented at the occasion by the Federal Controller of Works, Oyo State, Kayode Ibrahim, said the rehabilitation of internal roads in the institutions was not only civil work but a critical intervention to support education as well as an investment in it, “The quality of education will be impacted by the quality of infrastructure therein and the learning environment”.

Noting that bridging of infrastructure gap on the nation’s highways has been extended to federal tertiary institutions in the country, the Minister declared, “The Federal Government has now intervened in the internal road network of 46 tertiary federal institutions, out of which 29 were handed over in 2021”, adding that 17 such roads were now ready for commissioning while work was ongoing on 30 internal roads in tertiary institutions in the country bringing the total number to 76.

The Minister, while listing the scope of the work done on the road to include: flood control, lane marking, drainage and stone pitching, explained that those works had to be carried out because when the engineers moved to site they identified that the existing hydraulic structure was inadequate to stop the over flow of water on the road which was a major cause of wash out that destroyed it.

While urging the school management to take ownership and proper use of the asset, Fashola declared, “It is undebatable that quality of education will be impacted by the quality of infrastructure and the learning environment and those who doubt it should simply listen to some of the feedbacks from students in the schools where this type of intervention has taken place”.

He advised them not to burn tyres on the road explaining that such act could destroy the asphalt which would in turn lead to flowing of water into the depth of the road thereby destroying it adding, “Water is a major enemy to the road because it destroys it faster than any other thing”.

Reiterating that the project was an investment in education, the Minister, who again advised the students to use the asset properly, disclosed that the Federal Government has also embarked on the rehabilitation of Ado-Awaye-Maya Road along Iseyin-Igboora in Oyo State.