Traders and residents of Ero Omo-Kilanko-Biada community in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State have called on the state government to urgently rehabilitate their access road following extensive erosion damage that has disrupted commercial activities and movement.

The residents said deep gullies along the road had made several sections nearly impassable to motorists, commercial motorcyclists and pedestrians, while also threatening nearby residential buildings.

They urged Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to provide adequate drainage channels alongside the road rehabilitation to prevent further erosion and restore access to the community.

A businessman in the area, Temitope Olayemi, said the deteriorating road had affected business operations by making it difficult for customers and suppliers to reach shops.

He explained that vehicles and commercial motorcycles could no longer move conveniently through the affected sections, resulting in reduced commercial activities and financial losses for traders.

Similarly, a businesswoman, Tosin Araoye, said the situation had disrupted the supply of essential commodities, particularly sachet water, as distributors could no longer drive into the community.

She explained that suppliers now dropped their products along the expressway, forcing traders to carry the goods manually to their shops.

Another businessman, Segun John, said the road had deteriorated to the extent that he could no longer drive his vehicle into the community, adversely affecting his business operations.

Commercial motorcyclists operating in the area also expressed concern, saying the deep erosion gullies had forced them to drop passengers before reaching their destinations.

One of the operators, Emmanuel Adeniyi, said the situation had reduced their daily earnings while creating additional difficulties for residents who depended on motorcycles for transportation.

Another operator, Femi Abodurin, warned that continued neglect could completely cut off the community, particularly during the next rainy season.

He said the erosion was also threatening a residential building opposite the affected section, adding that some residents had been forced to park their vehicles elsewhere because they could no longer access their homes.

Although he acknowledged the ongoing rehabilitation of Kilanko Road by the state government, Abodurin appealed for similar intervention on roads connecting other communities in the area.

The Secretary of the Ero Omo-Kilanko-Biada Community Association, Saka Abdulkadir, also urged the government to rehabilitate the road and construct adequate drainage infrastructure to address the erosion problem.

He noted that the road served several communities, adding that its deteriorating condition had forced some vehicle owners to seek alternative routes while businesses continued to suffer from restricted access.

Abdulkadir appealed to the state government to restore the road to enable residents to reach their homes without difficulty and allow commercial activities to recover.

The appeal comes amid an earlier assurance by the state government that it would commence rehabilitation of Kilanko Road in the Offa Garage area of Ilorin, alongside the Gaa Akanbi-Danialu-University of Ilorin road corridor.

The then Commissioner for Works, Qowiyu Olododo, had said engineers from the ministry visited the affected locations to assess their condition and prepare appropriate reconstruction and drainage designs.

He added that the government was reviewing the technical requirements for the Kilanko Road project to determine a suitable design for the terrain.

Olododo also disclosed that a similar assessment was being conducted on the Gaa Akanbi-Danialu-University of Ilorin road, noting that the AbdulRazaq administration had constructed more than 300 kilometres of roads across the state since assuming office in 2019.