The Chairman of Oluyole Local Government, Hon. (Engr.) Akeem Olatunji, has attributed the recurring road accidents along the Toll Gate–Iwo Road axis of Ibadan to poor federal road design and the absence of designated garages for commercial vehicles.
Speaking in a recent interview against the backdrop of recent accidents within the area, Olatunji stressed that while efforts have been made at the local level to manage traffic and reduce roadside parking, lasting solutions must come from the federal authorities responsible for the road infrastructure.
“The road is a federal road, and there should be provisions for garages along it, so that Micra and commercial buses will not have to park on the roadside,” Olatunji said. “We’ve met with the leadership of the Park Management System (PMS) under Alhaji Tomiwa Omolewa, and they have instructed their members to vacate the road if they must park at all, but that’s just by the way.”
The council boss emphasized that the core issue lies in the road’s structural design. According to him, a well-designed highway should have standard garages, lay-bys for commercial vehicles, and pedestrian bridges at critical points to ensure the safety of both commuters and residents.
“The real problem is with the design of the road. There should be garages, and with a road as wide as this, there should also be pedestrian bridges, at least at places like Soka, Sanyo, Aboluwaji, and other such areas,” he stated. “Most of our people who live in these outer-city communities have to cross these roads daily. People must survive, and these crossings put them at risk.”
Olatunji noted that without these necessary facilities, road crashes would continue to claim lives. He called on the Federal Ministry of Works, which has an office in Ibadan, as well as federal lawmakers representing Oyo State, to intervene urgently.
“Our senators, House of Representatives members, and even the minister should take this up. If it was something the Oyo State Government could handle on its own, I believe they would have done it by now,” he concluded.
