Residents of Akure, the Ondo State capital on Wednesday trooped out to protest the alleged abandonment of Akure-Ado Ekiti Expressway by the Federal Government.

They alleged that the abandoned road project gulped a sum of N22 billion and the contractor handling the project had not been sighted on site. They added that the poor state of the road has continued to aid criminal activities, such as kidnappings and killings.

The protesters were armed with placards with inscriptions such as “Too much of kidnapping, raping on Akure-Ado-Ekiti road,” “Revoke Akure-Ado-Ekiti Road contract from Dantata and Sawoe,” “Fix our roads, save our souls,” “Too much killings and robberies on Akure-Ado-Ekiti road,” among others.

One of the protesters, Mr Niyi Majofodun said the road project as a matter of urgency should be revoked from the contractor, saying the road has become a death trap for the motorists.

He said, “The dualization of Akure–Ado Ekiti road was awarded in 2020 and, however, the contractor refused to move to the site until a few days ago after our organisation had petitioned the office of the Director-General of BPP over the abandonment of the project. Copy of the petition letter is hereby attached.

“It is on record that killings, kidnappings, robbery, raping and terrible motor accident have become uncontrollable on the said road (Akure–Ado Ekiti). We cannot afford to die in silence, we want to strongly appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to please look into this matter as a matter of urgency. We also express our displeasure at the manners in which Director General ( BPP) awarded the road.

“Mr. President should not allow his name to be dragged into the mud on this matter since he had performed his Constitutional right by awarding the contract and subsequently mobilised the contractor. Therefore, he must ensure his directive is complied with and carried out. The President may wish to review this contract without delay.

“The contract should be revoked to save the life of the road ushers. The road is expected to be delivered within 30 months of award, and up till now, no sophisticated equipment is seen on the ground.”

During the peaceful protest, the Akure-Ado Ekiti expressway was blocked, causing a traffic logjam for several hours while motorists took some alternative routes.