L-R: The Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide; President, Ogun State Customary Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Adebisi Femi Segun; Chief Judge of Ogun State, Mosunmola Dipeolu; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, and the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi at the Special Church Service, held at the Cathedral of St. Peters, Ake, Abeokuta, on Tuesday, to mark the 2024/2025 Legal Year.
The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday promised that the construction of the Laderin train station road in Abeokuta will soon be completed.
Governor Abiodun, who decried the idea by the Federal Government to conceptualize and build the train station without an access road, said that his administration, upon the construction of a world-class airport at Ilishan, deemed it fit to open up a new access road directly from the Sagamu-Benin Expressway, even as the Ilishan and Iperu roads still exist.
The Governor stated this during a special church service to usher in the 2024/2025 Legal Year held at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta.
Prince Abiodun said that the contractor handling the road project has just completed the construction of two big box culverts (mini-bridges) that will channel water away from the road, while earthwork and drainage will soon commence.
He said: “We don’t understand why a train station is built without an access road as part of that project conception. Today, we have built a world-class airport in Remo; can you imagine that we built that airport without considering the access road to that airport?
“There are other existing roads to that airport. However, we have begun the construction of an access road that tees off the Sagamu-Benin Expressway. If you are coming to that airport, you don’t need to go through Ilisan or Iperu; you make a left turn straight to the airport. This is what a project from inception should look like.
“In this instance, this train station was conceived, built, and completed without an access road being part of the project.
“As a responsible governor and government, we have taken it upon ourselves to award the contract for the road leading to that train station, and that contract is currently ongoing. However, the construction of two big box culverts that will channel stormwater away from the road has been completed.
“Earthwork and drainage will start. I will, however, personally urge the contractor to ensure he finishes on record time.”
He said the legal year provides an opportunity to collectively reaffirm commitment to pursue justice as well as continually improve the administration of justice in the state.
Abiodun said the outgoing year witnessed the resilience and dedication of the judiciary system despite unprecedented challenges confronting the nation, adding that the judiciary has, however, remained the beacon of fairness, integrity, and independence.
“As we all know, the judiciary is the bedrock of democracy, the pillar that upholds justice, equity, and fairness, which safeguards our rights to freedom and ensures the stability of our society.
“The commencement of the new legal year offers the chance to reiterate the importance of justice in society, a time for introspection on the ethics of the profession, principles of justice, and commitment to serving the public good,” the governor said.
The maintenance of law, order, and administration of justice, Prince Abiodun emphasized, is intricately linked as essential to ensuring healthy politics and achieving a just society.
He expressed the hope that members of the state judiciary would individually and collectively fulfill their constitutional roles, just as he expressed confidence in their unwavering commitment to uphold the rule of law, ensuring justice and safeguarding the rights of every citizen.
“I am confident that Law Officers will continue to perform their duties with the highest level of professionalism and dedication in alignment with the state government’s vision of a fair, just, and equitable society, free from anarchy and tyranny,” the governor noted.
In a sermon titled “Let Justice Flow,” the Archbishop of the African Church, Most Reverend Solomon Ojumu, stressed the need for judges to always deliver impartial judgments while judicial officers should also ensure quick dispensation of justice, as justice delayed is justice denied.
Taking his text from Amos 5, verses 21-23, the clergyman noted that there are injustices in the land as people are oppressed by the powerful in society, adding that as the last hope of the common man, judges ought to be champions of the poor by delivering sound judgment to all manner of people regardless of their social status.
Archbishop Ojumu called on Nigerian leaders to do the needful to reduce suffering in the land as there is hunger and desperation among the poor due to the sins of the few elites.
The Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu read the only lesson of the service taken from Romans 12, verses 9-21.
