Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on Sunday made an unscheduled on-the-spot inspection of the ongoing construction of Ogheghe Road and Old Sapele Road in Benin City after a church service just as he directed contractors to accelerate work to fully maximise the dry season window.
Speaking during the inspection, Governor Okpebholo said it was important for him to personally assess the progress of the road construction project, adding that the dry season presented a limited opportunity for speedy delivery.
The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Patrick Akhere Ebojele, quoted him as saying, “I have not been around here for sometime, so coming to look at this work and see what is going on is important.
“We are experiencing the dry season now. Apart from this time, there is no more time, we need to take advantage of the season so the speed has to be doubled.”
While expressing satisfaction with the quality of work being done, the Governor stressed that the pace must be increased to meet timelines.
“Now that I’m here, I’ve seen the extent of what they are doing, and they are doing well. But I still need them to buckle up and be faster with the pace of work I’m seeing now. We just have about five months of dry season,” he said.
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Governor Okpebholo explained that the photographs taken during the inspection were meant to ensure compliance with approved specifications.
He said, “The reason I snapped those pictures in one of the sections of the road is to see if what is on the ground matches the specification I have in my record.”
He recalled that the 4.1-kilometre Ogheghe Old Sapele Road project was initiated following concerns raised by residents about erosion and safety.
“When we came here last time, people thought it would never be possible. The reason we are doing this road is because we heard that a child died on this street arising from flooding and erosion menace affecting the community; the child was washed away by erosion from this site and that was the essence of our visit then.”
