Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State inspected the ongoing 49-kilometre Eyenkorin-Afon-Ojoku-Offa-Odo Otin road project on Thursday.

In a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, it was highlighted that the road promises to drive socioeconomic growth along the corridor. This project is one of four major roads facilitated by the governor under the federal government’s tax credit scheme, all being constructed by the BUA Group.

The statement also mentioned the other three roads: Lafiagi-Shonga-Bacita (83 km), Bode Saadu-Kaiama-Kosubosu (130 km), and Okuta-Gwanara-Bukuro (32 km).

“These massive road projects complement several other intra-state road networks and the urban renewal initiative of Governor Abdulrazaq within the state.

Accompanied by the Commissioner for Works and Transport Engr. AbdulQuawiy Olododo, Special Adviser on Special Duties Alhaji Abdulrazaq Jiddah, and BUA Site Engineer Samson Adebiyi, Governor Abdulrazaq expressed joy on the project and commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for greenlighting the construction works even unannounced.

“We keep hearing about the renewed hope agenda and what it means. This is a summary of renewed hope. Many people, including Kwarans, are not aware that something as massive as this is ongoing already. We thank the President for this,” the Governor told reporters after the inspection.

“This is the new Ilorin-Offa road. It is going to open up the entire economy of the area. And this is not the only road project in Kwara that the Federal government has invested in.

“Two months ago, I visited Bode Sa’adu-Kaiama-Kosubosu road, which is also a federal government road. Then, there is the 83km Lafiagi-Shonga-Bacita road. We are truly lucky in Kwara; we are happy that these investments are being placed in the state.

“A couple of months ago, I visited the President in his office to discuss some issues, and also to congratulate him on the decision to embark on the Calabar-Lagos Coastal Highway, and the President showed me a document on his table on the Badagry-Sokoto Highway. That is foresight. I was truly excited and went straight to the section that concerns Kwara. I also saw the Kishi-Kaiama-Wawa road, which has also been approved.”

The governor also inspected the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station that is under construction around Post Office, in Ilorin, saying the project should be ready soon.

He said the project underlines the efforts of the President to refocus the economy on sustainable energy and lesser dependence on petrol.

Abdulrazaq said these massive infrastructural initiatives have placed Nigeria and Kwara State in a better position.

He said the President is focused on attaining a trillion-dollar economy that he said can be partly achieved through the development of basic infrastructure.

“So you can see that over the next two, three, four years, the infrastructure development in Kwara will attain another level. Why am I particular about infrastructure? The President talked about a trillion-dollar economy by the time we finished this administration,” the Governor said.

“Hopefully, insha Allaah, we are talking about the end of the second term. To achieve a trillion-dollar economy, you have to have the basic infrastructure to do that.

“This is what these infrastructure projects are meant to achieve because it simply means opening up the country for investments and more production. We have to produce to export and to survive. We are talking about a manufacturing economy, not just in Kwara but across Nigeria.

“If you ask me, what has the President done for us? This, among others, is an example of what we have benefited from the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We will strive to get more. But this is evidence of development.”