This deplorable state of the Ilorin-Jebba road also extends to Mokwa. Few weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2016 budget into law, work commenced on three of Nigeria's worst and most used highways. The project is expected to cost N57billion.

Some of these roads, including the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa-Mando highway, Kano-Maiduguri highway, Abaji-Lokoja-Okene highway, Enugu -Makurdi highway, and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano dual carriageway, are notorious for fatal accidents.

Experts attributed the frequent crashes on the roads to the activities of haulage vehicles which ply the routes often, subjecting them to much use. In the early part of the year, the Kaduna highway claimed the lives of the former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi and two members of his family.

The Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa route links the northern and southern parts of the country. Our reporter observed in February that the traffic gridlock on that major road, which was worsened by its poor state, left trucks trapped for over four hours within 50 kilometers or less. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had promised that once the budget for the year was approved, work would commence on the critical highways.

Checks at the ministry over the weekend revealed that work had started on some of the projects, especially on three of the most critical highways. The 2016 Appropriation Act captures the worth of the highways at N57.909 billion. It is part of the N422.964 billion allocated to the ministry for capital development, it was learnt.

Some pictorial information obtained by Daily Trust on Sunday indicate that contractors have commenced work at the first section of the Kano-Maiduguri highway. The project, which has been divided into five parts, will gulp N13.109 billion. The Lagos-Ibadan road (section I) is gulping N40 billion. Its rehabilitation reportedly started last Monday, with asphalt laying among other things at its Shagamu axis.

Early last week, rehabilitation of the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa highway also commenced. It will cost N4.800 billion. It was reported that by last December, Kwara and Niger legislatures sought its inclusion in the 2016 budget as it had become a nightmare to motorists. Last Monday, the CGC Nigeria Limited, a Chinese construction firm, returned to the rehabilitation, reconstruction and expansion of the Kano-Maiduguri highway (section IV: Potiskum - Damaturu). They were seen laying stone-base and asphalt. The same CGC was seen working on the rehabilitation, reconstruction and expansion of the Ilorin-Jebba road by laying stone-base and asphalt the same day.

For the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc started by mapping out traffic management diversions as it prepared to resume full work for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and expansion of the Lagos-Shagamu interchange. For the Lagos-Shagamu highway, Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Limited resumed the rehabilitation, reconstruction and expansion of the Lagos-Ibadan dual carriageway, section II (Shagamu-Ibadan) on June 10. Fashola had made a trip to Niger State through the highway to commission the repaired Jebba Hydropower turbines and see the 700-megawatt Zungeru hydropower. At the state’s Government House where he met Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, he lamented the condition of the road, noting that it took more time to travel than it ought to.

Along the highway from Ilorin to Jebba and Mokwa, Daily Trust on Sunday observed that there was either a fatal crash on every five kilometers or a breakdown of haulage trucks. Fashola said, "We are making a 60-kilometer journey that should take 40 minutes in about three hours. "As I said to those truck drivers along the Ilorin-Jebba road, it would be better to pay tolls on good roads instead of spending four days on a bad road and losing their perishable goods. We will fix the roads first and go back to maintenance."

Speaking at the Abuja town hall meeting a fortnight ago, the minister said although the contractors had not been paid, this government has been perceived as credible; hence they are going back to site. "They haven't been paid, but that is what change means. This government is credible and believable; if we say we would pay, we will pay," Fashola said, adding that disbursement of funds for many road projects would soon start. It was learnt that the contractors abandoned road projects nationwide due to lack of mobilisation funds.

Still speaking on the significance of the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road, the minister said: "If you haven't passed through that road, perhaps you would not understand how significant it is for the prosperity of Nigeria. It is on that road that farmers mainly move their produce. Also, that is where fuel comes from tank farms in Lagos to many parts of the North." The minister said although repair work had not been completed, the road has been sufficiently stabilised and that section is now motorable.