The Staff and Students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, on Monday, March 25, 2024, staged a peaceful protest to call the attention of the government and relevant authorities to the poor state of the only road that leads to the institution.
The protestants were armed with placards bearing different inscriptions including, “Federal Govt should fix Ado Poly Road, Now”, “Save our souls. This road is not saved. Urgent attention needed”, “Ado Poly-ABUAD Road now a death trap”, “Where is the reward for paying humongous tax”, “We deserve a better treatment without taxes”, and “Renewed Agenda should reflect Ado Poly-ABUAD Road”.
While policemen were on the ground to maintain law and order, the protesters were shouting, “All we are saying, “give us good road” and ‘save our lives”.
The protestants noted that Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) has spent a huge amount of money in repairing the road despite being one of the highest taxpayers in the state, adding that most time, staff of the polytechnic contributed money to maintain the road.
According to Ekiti Trend, as part of measures to show their grievances and press home their demands, the protesters in large numbers barricaded the road thus causing heavy traffic congestion which came to stand still for several hours.
In a separate interview, the Chairman, the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics, Sunday Akomolafe, Chairman, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Adebayo Daramola and Chairman, the Non-Academic Staff Union, Adebayo Abubakar said the protest became necessary after the government turned a deaf ear to their plea over the years regarding the road.
According to them, the road has become a death trap alleging that more than five persons have died within this year as a result of accidents occasioned by the poor state of the road.
The staff noted that they have on several occasions contributed personal income to repair the road but its condition was beyond patching but a total reconstruction.
They vowed to continue to barricade the road unless government takes necessary action.
Some of the motorists and commuters stranded in the traffic commended the Polytechnic staff for the courage to call out government.
The motorists affirmed that they spent all their earnings maintaining their vehicles as a result of the damages caused by the road.
