INFRASTRUCTURE: TURNING PUBLIC NIGHTMARE TO AN ENDURING LEGACY

[Mirror]

For long, infrastructure in Ekiti State practically turned into public nightmare. Today, the story has changed. There is a new lease of life in the state with robust infrastructural development through Kayode Fayemi's Midas touch. ABIODUN NEJO reports

When on October 16, 2010, Dr. Kayode Fayemi was sworn in as governor of Ekiti State, he did not mince words about his developmental vision for Ekiti and his mission in office while delivering his inaugural address.

Among others, Fayemi, who described the state of infrastructure and public utilities in the state as "public nightmare", promised to improve on the infrastructure in the state and as well, industrial development which are key in the bid to banish poverty in the state and people's lives.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Mr. Kayode Jegede, said the state of decay of the infrastructure in the state before the inception of the present administration was better imagined than described.

Water treatment plant at Efon Alaaye He said: "Water was not flowing at all anywhere in the state, many communities in the state were in darkness as they could not access electricity from the national grid, necessary physical infrastructure needed in the capital city were not in place. Worse still, the state did not have an e-mail, much more having anything to do with ICT."

The road situation in the state before Fayemi came to office, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Roads, Hon. Sunday Adunmo, "was terrible and messy," making one to conclude that there was no road in the state.

Adunmo, who said there was nothing to write home about the road situation inherited from the ousted Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government in the state, said "the roads in all parts of the state were in a total state of disrepair. What we had then was road revolution as signpost on vehicles without the translations on the roads."

With the low revenue from the Federation Account and the abysmal low internally generated revenue, IGR watchers had always believed there was little or nothing the Fayemi government could do about the parlous state of infrastructure on ground at that time. This was why many doubting Thomases had taken Fayemi's promises at the inception of the administration as empty promises.

But Fayemi is ever persuaded that the presence of necessary infrastructure as roads, power, water, security, and orderliness serve as enabling environment for investment, which he believed was necessary in the state to change it from its civil service orientation to an industrial economy.

As such, as soon as he settled down in office, the governor began processes of holistic transformation of the state along the line of his administration's Eight-Point Agenda which had infrastructural and industrial development as second and sixth items respectively on it.

The governor, through honest execution and implementation of the various intervention programmes in the areas of infrastructure and industrial development, no doubt, has achieved remarkable visible success in the present physical outlook of the state which is now an incentive to investments.

Ado-Iyin road This, no doubt, is why the governor, three years after, can beat his chest and say: "Our administration has achieved very significant progress in the area of infrastructural development across the state. We have worked hard to create the optimal physical environment that would stimulate economic activities, as well as improved security of lives and property."

In view of the importance of roads to the socioeconomic development of the state and indeed, any society, the governor did not mind committing a chunk of the bond he sourced from the capital market to the construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads across the state.

The result: Good roads today litter the state even in the rural areas and places erstwhile believed to be impossible with over 700 kilometres made up of intrastate and township roads completed by the present government, while many others are ongoing.

Adunmo said the less than N20 billion investment in roads was targeted at attracting investors to the state; ensuring comfort, safety and security of road users; aiding transportation of farm produce and as well boosting agriculture; among others.

The new look roads in the state have, no doubt, engendered accelerated growth in socio-economic activities and strengthened the state's competitiveness and attractiveness to both domestic and foreign investors and thus increased citizens' propensity to access economic opportunities.

Among roads completed by the administration are the dualisation of major roads in Ado Ekiti; 24km Ikogosi- Ipole-Iloro-Efon Road; 17km Ijero-Ipoti-Ayetoro Road; 17km Ilawe-Igbara Odo-Ibuji Road; 17km Ijan- Ise Road; 11.5km Ado-Ilawe road; and 10.75km Ado- Afao Roads.

Others which are ongoing included the 43km Oye-Ikun-Otun Road; 25.6km Ilupeju-Ire-Igbemoijan road; Ikere township roads; 12km Isan-Obon Ayegunle Road; Ijero township roads; and 11.4km Iropora-Epe-Araromi-Ijero Road.

As access to power supply remains an incentive for establishment of businesses – small or large scale – and a means of checking rural-urban drift, the Fayemi administration considered it a priority, hence the investment in the sector to benefit the populace.

Among the administration's intervention in this regard are provision of street lights in major streets of Ado Ekiti such as Ajilosun through Okeyinmi to Adebayo area and as well the popular Irona Street to make the state capital befitting of its status and as well improving security situation.

Also, over 150 transformers have been purchased and distributed to boost power supply in several communities across the state and intensify electrification of other numerous communities leading to a massive boost in economic activities and further unlocking citizens' access to diverse opportunities.

Moreover, the administration had in three years completed rural electrification of 15 new towns while the project is ongoing in the 16th community, a feat which the governor's Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Jegede, said surpassed what successive governments did in seven years in only six towns.

The water sector in the state has also received a fair share of the Governor's Midas touch as potable water now gets to over 55 per cent of the population of the state through the ingenuity of the Fayemi administration.

The governor, who did not hesitate to investigate the reason for the erstwhile parlous state of water supply in the state and the way out, embarked on massive rehabilitation and turn-around maintenance of the water facilities, laying of pipelines to increase reticulation, improving the power situation at the water facilities.

The administration has also put in some new water plants for some of the small towns, Ido Ile, Okemesi, Efon, Ipole Iloro, Erijiyan, and as well been able to make the Mary Hill Reservoir in Ado functional in addition to reforms to sustain the efforts and a water policy.

Other key steps taken by the Fayemi administration to reposition the infrastructural development of the state include: Award of contracts for the supply and installation of High Lift Pumps for eight communities; Procurement of 2500KVA power generating get for Ero Dam to ease water supply to people in 10 local government areas of the state; Purchase and distribution of over 100 transformers to boost power supply in several communities across the state and intensive electrification of other numerous communities; Increase in water supply from 25% to 52% and reactivation of all mini-dams in the state; Provision of trucks and equipment to the state fire service and donation of operational vehicles to the Swift Response Squad as well as two Armoured Personnel Carriers, APC, and newly-established Army base in Ekiti.

Also, towns and villages not currently connected to the national grid have also been provided with electricity including the Oke Ako, Irele and Otunja communities in Ikole LGA and Ilupeju-Ijan in Gbonyin LGA.

But Jegede, who said the present over 55 per cent water supply level was still below the 80 per cent target for 2014, assured that the target was achievable with ongoing efforts.

He said: "With our investment, we have been able to push it to over 55 per cent now. But we are not there yet; our target is minimum of 80 per cent, but we are hopeful of achieving that in the next one year.

"It is still work in progress. We are very confident that with the assistance of the World Bank and the European Union, and our own funds, we would be able to aggressively move towards it."

In the area of ICT, among other achievements including e-government, e-learning and the biometric payroll system, the state government two months ago began the laying of a fibre-optic cable in some parts of the capital city for faster means of internet access.

The idea, according to Jegede, "is that we want to make Ekiti State a knowledge-based economy so that the average person in his house, school or office can have ICT at an affordable cost and high speed.

"Then you will be able to do lot of interesting things. You can even sit here in Ado Ekiti and earn money from around the world. It is still a means of wealth creation for the people to move the state from a civil service economy," he said.

Other infrastructure in place by the administration include the Legacy Projects and other public buildings in the state capital as part of the designs to ensure the state capital has necessary infrastructure.

They are the Civic Centre, the New Government House, the State Mega Pavilion and the New Governor's Office which are at different stages of completion, while the new State House of Assembly, Deputy Governor's Office and Oluyemi Kayode Stadium rehabilitation among others have been completed.

The administration has also inaugurated an urban renewal programme and a beautification project which have, in addition to the infrastructure development, transformed the physical outlook of the capital city where the pilot schemes have taken off.

However, the result of the infrastructure development is that Ekiti is now a destination of choice to investors who now find the place attractive to operate, coupled with the Fayemi administration's industrial dream and peace and security, thus the stage is set for industrial revolution in the state.