Road Construction: Okpebholo Inspects Ogheghe, Old Sapele Road, Calls for Accelerated Work

Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on Sunday conducted an unscheduled on-the-spot inspection of the ongoing construction of Ogheghe Road and Old Sapele Road in Benin City, shortly after attending a church service. During the visit, he instructed the contractors handling the project to hasten the pace of work in order to fully utilise the dry season.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ebojele Akhere Patrick, PhD, and made available to journalists.

Speaking during the inspection, Governor Okpebholo explained that the visit was aimed at personally assessing the level of progress on the road construction, stressing that the dry season provides a limited but crucial window for speedy execution.

“I have not been around here for some time, so coming to see this work and understand what is going on is important,” the governor said.

“We are in the dry season now. Outside this period, there is little opportunity, so we must take advantage of the season. The speed of work has to be doubled,” he added.

While expressing satisfaction with the quality of work so far, the governor underscored the need for increased momentum to ensure the project is completed within the approved timeframe.

“Now that I am here, I have seen the extent of work being done, and they are doing well. However, I still need them to buckle up and move faster than the pace I am seeing now. We only have about five months of dry season,” he stated.

Governor Okpebholo further noted that photographs taken during the inspection were intended to ensure strict compliance with approved project specifications.

“The reason I took those pictures in one section of the road is to confirm that what is on the ground aligns with the specifications I have in my records,” he said.

He recalled that the 4.1-kilometre Ogheghe–Old Sapele Road project was initiated in response to complaints from residents over erosion and safety challenges.

“When we came here previously, many people felt it would never be possible. The reason for constructing this road is because we were informed that a child died on this street due to flooding and erosion in the community. The child was washed away by erosion at this site, and that was the essence of our visit then,” the governor explained.