Oke Sefu residents press Ogun government over road that raises travel time and costs
Residents of Oke Sefu community in Ibafo, Ogun State, are pressing the state government to rehabilitate their access road, saying flooding, potholes and slippery sections are making daily movement harder and more expensive.
The community, in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area, told PUNCH Metro that the road becomes particularly difficult during the rainy season, forcing residents and commercial motorcycle riders to navigate damaged sections or take longer routes.
A reporter who visited the area observed motorcycles struggling through parts of the road and passengers getting down at difficult sections to reduce the risk of falling.
A short journey is getting longer
Motorcycle riders said the road’s condition is increasing travel time, fuel use and maintenance pressure.
One rider told PUNCH that journeys that would normally take about seven to 10 minutes can now stretch to between 10 and 15 minutes because riders divert around waterlogged sections.
Residents also complained that persistent potholes and flooding have made movement uncomfortable for workers, traders and other road users, while water entering bad sections of the road can damage motorcycles.
The problem is not just inconvenience.
For a community that depends heavily on motorcycles and local road transport, poor access means extra time, higher operating costs and greater exposure to crashes, especially during rainfall.
Government cites wider road pressure
Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, acknowledged broader road challenges across the state and said the government could not rehabilitate every road at the same time because of limited resources.
He said road projects were being prioritised based on available revenue and noted that the government had carried out work in parts of Ibafo, Mowe and elsewhere in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area.
But the response did not provide a specific rehabilitation date for the Oke Sefu road.
That leaves a clear accountability question: when will this particular road receive a defined government intervention, and what exactly will that intervention cover?
Residents want a defined timetable
The strongest issue is no longer whether the road is in poor condition.
Residents have described the consequences, a reporter has observed difficult sections on the ground, and the state government has acknowledged the wider infrastructure challenge.
What remains unclear is the delivery path.
No specific project value, contractor, funding release or repair deadline for the Oke Sefu road has been established in the available reporting.
Those distinctions matter.
A general government commitment to road rehabilitation is not the same as an approved, funded and scheduled project for Oke Sefu.
For residents already paying the price in longer journeys, damaged motorcycles and difficult rainy-season movement, the next meaningful development will be a defined intervention with a scope and timetable that can be tracked.