W’Bank Commends Osun on Infrastructural Devt.

W’Bank Commends Osun on Infrastructural Devt.

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The World Bank and the federal government have ranked Osun State as the best performing state among the participating states in the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP)
in Nigeria.

Speaking while meeting with Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, after the team

had gone round the state for the project inspection, the World Bank
Task team leader Engr. Tunji Ahmed and the National coordinator for RAMP project, Engr. Ubandoma Ularamu, said with the level of
implementation of the project in the state, Osun was in a very
good position for others to emulate.

According to them, the maintenance mechanism put in place for the RAMP

project by the state was sustainable and urged other states to adopt same.

Ularamu, in his submission said the way and pace in which Osun
was going with the commitment and proper implementation of the project

Would attract additional financing.

He added that, Osun had already completed the first phase of 225

kilometres of rural roads with additional 315 kilometres and that the state would be having more than 500 kilometres of rural roads through the project.

According to him, if the additional financing was granted and provided to Osun, the state would be able to have additional roads that would make it more than 1000 kilometres of rural roads.
“With the Osun model on the maintenance of the project, this will make it one of the best projects that Nigeria will be proud of,” he said, stressing that, “Osun has been doing a wonderful job on the project and others
can borrow a leaf from the state.”

In his view, Ahmed attributed the good performance of state in the implementation of the RAMP project to the total commitment by the state through the timely payment and release of counterpart funds, making the project to pass through a normal due process and also by giving the state project implementation unit (S.P.I.U) a desired attention. Ahmed, who commended the state over the security architecture put in place, however called the attention of state government to some security challenges facing some of the contractors
on the project.

Addressing the visiting team, Oyetola, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Benedict Alabi, assured that the state would strive to complement on its good performance on RAMP project especially in the area of maintenance. The Osun (RAMP) project is an assisted Project by the World Bank and the federal government being implemented in phases in which Osun has completed the first phase of 225 kilometres of rural roads as well as
rural bridges, to link up the rural communities across the length and breadth of the state while the implementation of the second phase, covering about 315 kilometres of rural roads is now at advanced stage.

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