Lagere Flyover: GNA Commends Adeleke, Says ‘Ile-Ife Has Something to Celebrate’, Challenges Every Gov to Deliver for the People

The newly commissioned Lagere Flyover in Ile-Ife has been described as a landmark infrastructure project for the ancient city, with its delivery praised as a demonstration of how public promises can be translated into visible development, while political office-holders across Nigeria have been challenged to deliver tangible results for the people.

The commendation was made by the Great Nigerian Assembly, GNA, and the Ife Local Government Community Accountability and Advocacy, LG CAA, Governance Committee, which said the project had given Ile-Ife “a landmark it can point to”, adding that “that, on its own, is worth celebrating.”

In a statement issued on August 11, 2026, by the Ife LG CAA Governance Committee, and jointly signed by GN, Prince Johnson Oluwafunso Adetayo, Chairman, Ife CAA Governance Committee, GN Michael Ojo, Vice-Chairman, Ife CAA Governance Committee, and Dr Kayode Elusoji, Executive Director, Great Nigerian Assembly, GNA, and published by GNA News, the media arm of the Great Nigerian Assembly, the organisations commended Osun State Governor, Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, over the project.

GN (Prince) Johnson Oluwafunso Adetayo, Chairman Ife LG CAA Committee, Ife Central LGA

GN Micheal Ojo, Vice-Chairman, Ife Central CAA Committee

The organisation also acknowledged the fatherly role of His Imperial Majesty, Ọba Adéyẹyè Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, Ọjájá II, the Ọọni of Ife, whom it said joined Governor Adeleke, traditional rulers, community leaders and residents at the commissioning of the Lagere Flyover Bridge on Monday, August 10, 2026.

According to the statement, the commissioning was significant for Ile-Ife, an ancient city described by the organisations as the acknowledged Source of the Yoruba race, which they said had long waited for public projects worthy of its historical stature.

The organisations said the Lagere Flyover was more than a bridge, arguing that, when properly integrated into the city's transportation network, it would ease movement, reduce bottlenecks around one of Ile-Ife's busiest junctions, support commerce, enhance connectivity to academic and cultural landmarks, and contribute measurably to the economic life of surrounding communities.

“But its symbolic value is at least equal to its engineering value. Ile-Ife has a landmark it can point to. That, on its own, is worth celebrating,” the statement said.

GNA Appreciates Adeleke and Project Team

The Great Nigerian Assembly, together with the Ife LGs GNA CAA Governance Model, under the Advisory Chairmanship of His Imperial Majesty, expressed sincere appreciation to Governor Adeleke and his administration for moving beyond promises to visible, measurable delivery.

The organisation also recognised the officials, engineers, contractors, professionals and workers whose collective efforts, it said, brought the project to completion.

It further thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and the Federal Government for what it described as the fiscal environment that enables subnational governments to undertake meaningful infrastructure.

GNA Stresses Non-Partisan Position

The organisations said the commendation was consistent with what they described as their non-partisan, non-governmental and non-religious approach to governance.

“We acknowledge visible performance whenever and by whomever it is delivered, without regard to political calendar, party affiliation, or personal background,” the statement said.

The GNA said its appreciation was directed specifically at the Lagere Flyover and its measurable benefit to the people of Ile-Ife.

“This appreciation is therefore directed to the project itself and to its measurable benefit to the people of Ile-Ife, nothing more and nothing less.”

The organisation said it would similarly hold every administration accountable for delivery, irrespective of who occupies office.

“Silence in the face of delivery is as damaging to civic accountability as silence in the face of failure. The Great Nigerian Assembly will not be silent on either.”

GNA Raises Concerns Over Past Infrastructure Delivery

The statement also contained what the organisation described as “a quiet, necessary observation” concerning the political history of Ile-Ife.

The GNA said many sons and daughters of the city had occupied high political offices at state and federal levels over the past two and a half decades, but had not left infrastructure footprints comparable to the Lagere Flyover.

The organisation noted that Governor Adeleke, who hails from Osun West and is not an Ife indigene, had delivered where, according to the statement, people closer to Ile-Ife's soil had previously pledged but failed to complete.

“That is not a partisan statement. It is a civic fact, and it deserves to be recorded, both as an honour to the Governor and as a lesson to every public office-holder from Ile-Ife and beyond, the people are watching, and the people remember,” the statement said.

It added, “Silence in the face of delivery is as damaging to civic accountability as silence in the face of failure.”

Challenge to Every Office-Holder

The GNA said the Lagere Flyover should not be viewed as an endpoint, but as a reminder to political leaders about the responsibility of governance.

The organisation thanked Governor Adeleke for the project and offered counsel to whoever occupies the highest office in Osun State, as well as the highest offices in every state of the Federation and the Presidency.

“Do the needful. Build infrastructure. Deliver services. Let people genuinely feel the impact of democracy,” the statement said.

It added, “Governance is the servant of the governed, and its worth is measured not by the volume of promises made but by the visibility of promises kept.”

The organisation said the standard should not change with elections, shift to party colours or bend to the personality of the office-holder.

“This standard does not change with elections. It does not shift with party colours. It does not bend to the personality of the office-holder.”

“It is the standard by which every administration will be measured, including administrations still to come.”

GNA Says Ile-Ife Needs More Infrastructure

While welcoming the completion of the flyover, the organisation said Ile-Ife still faced a significant infrastructure deficit.

“One flyover, however important, does not close the infrastructure gap that Ile-Ife has accumulated across decades,” the statement said.

The GNA identified priorities across Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North and Ife South, including roads and transportation networks connecting Ile-Ife to rural belts and neighbouring communities.

It also called for healthcare facilities with adequate capacity, equipment and personnel, schools reflecting the intellectual heritage of a city that hosts one of Nigeria's most respected universities, and water and sanitation infrastructure worthy of the twenty-first century.

Other areas identified were economic infrastructure, including markets, agro-processing capacity and industrial support systems, security-supporting infrastructure in vulnerable and rural communities, digital connectivity, agricultural development across Ife North and Ife South, and youth and skills development programmes that translate education into sustainable employment.

The GNA therefore called on Governor Adeleke to treat the Lagere Flyover as “the beginning, not the culmination, of a sustained era of infrastructure renewal in Ile-Ife”.

It also called on President Tinubu and the Federal Government to complement state efforts with federal projects worthy of Ile-Ife's national and historical significance.

The organisation further urged Ife indigenes in positions of influence, in government, business and the diaspora, to bring resources, competence and commitment to their homeland.

GNA Offers Governance Partnership

Through the GNA CAA Governance Model, the organisation said it offers an organised, transparent and non-partisan mechanism through which citizens, professionals, community institutions, government representatives, development partners and Nigerians in the diaspora can collaborate.

The model, according to the statement, is designed to identify needs, document infrastructure, recognise performance and accelerate sustainable community development.

The GNA said its offer of constructive partnership to Government House, Osogbo, the National Assembly and every Local Government Chairman across the four Ife LGAs was open, standing and sincere.

100 Certified Citizen Reporters to Document Infrastructure

The statement disclosed that the Ife LG CAA Governance Model had entered an advanced stage of preparation for the training of 100 Certified Citizen Reporters, CCRs, who would be deployed to document infrastructure across the two pilot Local Government Areas, Ife Central and Ife East.

According to the organisation, the citizen reporters would accurately document existing public assets, grade them against agreed civic standards and make their assessments visible to political office-holders and government agencies at the Local, State and Federal levels.

The GNA said the objective was to enable decision-makers to see, in verifiable terms, the condition of public infrastructure and the genuine needs of the communities they serve.

According to Dr Kayode Elusoji, Executive Director of the Great Nigerian Assembly, the CCR programme would be replicated across every Local Government Area in Nigeria as more LGs come on board the award-winning GNA CAA governance platform.

Dr. Kayode Elusoji

Founder & Executive Director, Great Nigerian Assembly (GNA)

Elusoji described the platform as an innovative tool designed to connect communities directly to governance and ensure that citizens genuinely enjoy the dividends of democracy.

“If all governors, Local Government Chairmen, senators, members of the House of Representatives, and every federal and state agency use the funds allocated to them judiciously, the people of Nigeria would feel a far greater impact of democracy than they do today,” Elusoji said.

He added, “The GNA CAA Governance Model exists to connect the people to governance, and to position them to formally request what will genuinely impact their communities.”

“As the Model spreads across the Local Government Areas, every developmental work will be duly acknowledged, and the aspirations of each community will be formally communicated to the relevant responsible parties,” he said.

Elusoji said commendation would always be anchored to a single, non-negotiable question, “are the yearnings of the community being met?”

The organisations said Ile-Ife now had a bridge worth celebrating, but stressed that the city still had significant infrastructure needs to address, with the GNA and the Ife LG CAA Governance Committee pledging to continue recognising tangible delivery while constructively advocating for projects and services that remain outstanding.

The statement concluded, “Long live Ile-Ife. Long live Osun State. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”