The Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration is poised to revamp the Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency (OYSROMA) ahead of the task before the agency.
The state deputy governor, Barrister Bayo Lawal, gave the assurance when he did a tour inspection of the agency on Wednesday.
He said the agency has been dormant for some time in view of the enormous responsibility that is ahead as regards road rehabilitations across the state.
The deputy governor however expressed satisfaction with the readiness of the agency under the chairman, Hon Busoye Ogunlade, to key into the vision of Governor Makinde’s infrastructural drive across the state.
Lawal said OYSROMA has displayed high of responsibility, commitment and the character to handle the rehabilitation of the five kilometres of road rehabilitation in each of the 33 local government areas in the state through direct labour.
He stressed that OYSROMA has the facilities to fund its activities without anticipating money from the state government.
He also noted that the vision of the Makinde-led administration is for government agencies to look inward on how to generate funds that can sustain them.
Lawal said: “This is the second time I will be visiting OYSROMA. The first time I came, I told them to put their house in order because of the the enormous responsibility that is upon them.
“OYSROMA has been very dormant for quite sometimes, and because of the vision of Governor Seyi Makinde, we must revamp and rehabilitate it.
“So the purpose of my visit this afternoon (yesterday) is to see the state of preparedness of OYSROMA as an agency of the government in respect of the challenges ahead of them.
“First and foremost, one of the things I have noticed is that even without any subvention from the government, OYSTROMA has facilities that can bring money.
“I have moved round, the yard is very big laying fallow. One of the vision of this administration is to look inward, whatever we can turn into money, use it for the purpose of the administration.
“For instance, obsolete vehicles littered the surroundings. Some of them are as old as 30, 40 years that even if you want to maintain them, there are no spare parts to do such.
“Why are you adorning the compound with such things? To me and to this administration, whatever is useless should be discarded. So I have directed that such vehicles should be gotten rid of off the premises.
“Secondly, this is suppose to be a work yard and the facilities are there. There is mechanic workshop, carpentry workshop. These are things that can be used to make money, even through partnership. So the environment must be steady, the work force must be steady.
“His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, has directed that even the road network of the local government must be handled by OYSROMA.
“So if such work would be handled by OYSROMA, then it behoved on me, as the overseer, to make sure that they are in good stead.
“I have examine and I know that they can handle this because government is not ready to do these on contract basis. We have engineers, civil, architects.
“Government is investing a lot of money to repair roads across the state and this is the agency that will drive it. I have told them they have a lot of job at hand.
“If they have been closing by 5pm everyday, they must be thinking about not closing at all as the work load is much. It is a private sector driven, I will sit on their neck and I believe Oyo State will be better for it.
“They have been doing road patching and they will continue that. They are also spreading to Oyo, Ogbomosho, Ibarapa and Oke Ogun.”
Earlier in his remarks, chairman of OYSROMA, Honourable Ogunlade, lauded the deputy governor, saying he is proud to say members of staff have redoubled their commitment, dedication and loyalty whenever it comes to their job.
“Once again, thank you for your effort to making sure that Oyo State residents get maximum benefits from all agencies and for your fatherly guidance,” he said.
