Adeleke Announces First Dual Carriageway For Iwo

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State on Saturday, announced that his administration has approved the first dual carriageway for Iwo town.

Adeleke said the decision was in line with the resolve to expand infrastructure across the state.

Adeleke made the announcement at this year’s annual Iwo Day Celebrations held in Iwo, adding that the approved dualisation of the Adeke-Odori road will be done in two phases.

He subsequently directed the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to host community engagement events with stakeholders on the proposed highway, adding that work would begin on the project by January 2025.

The governor who was represented by his spokesperson, Rasheed Olawale, further said the first phase would run from Odoori to the Post Office Area of the town and branch in front of Oluwo palace, while the second phase would run from the Post Office to Adeeke junction.

According to him, “In line with our commitment to equity and fairness, our administration has approved a dual carriageway for Iwo. The dualisation of the Adeke-Odori road will be done in two phases.

“The first phase will run from Odoori to the Post Office with a branching to the front of the palace from the Roundabout. The second phase will run from the Post Office to Adeeke junction.

“I hereby direct the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to host community engagement events with stakeholders on the proposed highway. Additionally, the Ministry is further directed to mobilise to the site from January to commence the dualisation project.

“I am committed to lifting our major towns and villages out of underdevelopment. I have vowed to God that I will not relent in my drive until our towns, including Iwo, escape the shameful trap of stagnation.”

Speaking further, the governor reaffirmed Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, as the President of the Iwo Council of Traditional Rulers, urging the traditional ruler to continue to exercise his vested powers with a sense of accommodation.

“It was in pursuit of that goal that I reaffirm the law that Oluwo of Iwoland is and remains the President of Iwo Council of Traditional Rulers. I urge Kabiyesi to continue to exercise his vested powers with all sense of accommodation. I stand by that reaffirmation because that is what the law and tradition say. I won’t support historical revisionism,” he noted.

The governor while highlighting some of the achievements of his administration in Iwo, listed rehabilitation of the network of roads and Iwo water works, among others.

Earlier, the President of the Iwo Board of Trustees, Lai Olurode, called on the indigenes of the town to rally support for Oluwo, who he said was ready to transform the community within a short time.

Olurode also assured that the leadership of the board would continue to demonstrate a high standard of volunteerism and patriotic zeal in the development of the town.

He said, “A new emergent philosophy of development in Iwo Board of Trustees (IBOT) is to simultaneously look inward while spending less money and energies in mobilising funds from outside. With this new orientation that IWO CAN DO IT, perhaps, with minimum push from outside, we began to look inward by imposing levies on compounds for a specific minimum contribution.

“Without pressure, some compounds contribute far more than the ceiling and even do so with immense enthusiasm. Over the past couple of years, funds from this source have been rising. The cost of collection is cheaper in comparison and with less hassle.

Four distinct but related factors have been helpful in promoting this alternative approach to community development.

“First, it is participatory. There is a strong attachment to the hometown among the Yoruba. Rather than dwindling with the forces of democratization and globalization, this attachment has remained a vibrant factor. Second, the good people of Iwo, wherever they reside, observe that the funds so generated are being transparently administered in promoting physical projects that had been mutually agreed to in the community.

“Thirdly, we have a Paramount Ruler, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba (Dr. Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi), who is a no-nonsense traditional head of the town and one who is in a hurry to see Iwo completely transformed during his reign.

“Lastly, the leadership of IBOT continues to demonstrate a high and standard of volunteerism and patriotic zeal in the development of Iwo. IBOT’s Chief Patron, Oba (Dr.) Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi contributes yearly to the Iwo Day purse, so are all the distinguished members of IBOT. The funds that are realised are judiciously administered. IBOT members contribute money to entertain themselves at meetings. They also contribute in diverse ways as members of compounds and as club members to the development of Iwo. Iwo People in far away places display eagerness in being part of development projects at home.”