The Action Alliance’s gubernatorial candidate for Kogi State in the 2023 elections, Otunba Olayinka Braimoh, has voiced his frustration with the Kogi State government for not making any real progress on establishing a new route to the Federal University, Lokoja (FUL).
This comes just weeks after they agreed to his recommendations aimed at tackling the incessant accidents on the Nataco highway, the latest of which involved several students from FUL some weeks back.
In a statement from his campaign office, Braimoh took the state government to task for failing to turn their promises into action.
He shared, “I visited the university this week to take part in a programme hosted by the Linguistics department as a Special Guest of Honour, and I was shocked to see that the only access road to the institution is still the same one that has been there since the inception. Even though the state government acknowledged my professional assessment that the frequent accidents on this road are due to fundamental planning errors—where, ordinarily, arterial roads should connect traffic flow to the highway, but instead, collector roads lead traffic directly onto the highways in Lokoja, the state capital—I suggested that a lasting solution would involve the Urban planning department re-evaluating approvals to create alternative access routes to all the structures, including the university. Shortly after, I was glad to read in the newspapers that the state government had decided to follow my recommendation by working on alternative routes to the university.”
“Naturally, when I arrived at the school, I expected to see government contractors busy at work on the new access road, but to my surprise, there was absolutely no visible progress. The state government needs to understand the fact that, aligning their statements with their actions is essential to be seen as responsive and responsible or does this imply that the government is waiting for another unfortunate event (God forbid) before taking appropriate measures?”
He concluded by stating that, “The state government should recognize that development does not occur by chance or happenstance, but, through the deliberate, intentional, and coordinated actions of a visionary leader. We are observing closely”.
