The senator warned that if the government failed to construct the highway, floods will continue to ravage the areas along the road.
The senator representing Ogun East, Francis Fadahunsi, has criticised the federal government for diverting part of the 2022 supplementary budget to fund provision of palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.
Mr Fadahunsi made the criticism while contributing to a motion on flooding in Ikire area moved by Olalere Oyewunmi (PDP, Osun West) on Tuesday.
The supplementary budget of N819,53 billion was introduced by former President Muhammadu Buhari for capital projects due to the impact of the floods on farmlands and road infrastructure across the country.
But President Bola Tinubu requested the Senate to allow him use N500 billion from the budget to provide palliatives to Nigerians in order to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.
The Senate granted him the request and amended the budget to accommodate it.
At the plenary on Tuesday, Mr Fadahunsi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the diversion of the 2022 supplementary budget affected the completion of the Ife-Ibadan express road.
The senator said the construction of the Ife-Ibadan highway was awarded to Kopek Construction Company in 2018 at the sum of N79.8 billion.
He noted that out of the total amount, N581 million was disbursed to the contractor as upfront.
Mr Fadahunsi further explained that N11 billion had earlier been allocated in the budget to continue construction of the highway before Mr Tinubu's request.
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He warned that if the government failed to construct the highway, floods will continue to ravage areas along the road.
Motion
Mr Oyewunmi, the deputy minority leader, while presenting a motion at the plenary complained that Ikire, Apomu and Gbongan areas of Osun State were ravaged by flood after a heavy rainfall on Saturday.
The flood, he said, ravaged the areas and left commuters on the Ife-Ibadan express road stranded for many hours.
Mr Oyewunmi claimed that there was flooding because the construction of the road was not completed.
He urged the federal government to ensure completion of the road before the September - November rainfall in order to avoid more flooding incidents in the area.
Mr Oyewunmi asked the Senate to urge the Federal Ministry of Works to immediately direct the contractor to continue the construction of the road and also urge the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to assist with the construction.
The senator also requested the Senate to call on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to people whose homes and properties were ravaged by the flood in Ikire area.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, subsequently granted all the prayers and directed the Clerk of the Senate to communicate the resolution to the concerned agencies.
