Lagos ACN Decries Worsening State of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria has bemoaned the increasingly terrible state of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The party says that the worsening condition of the road is negatively affecting the economy of Lagos and called that a serious affirmative action be taken to rescue the road from total collapse.
In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that the inability of successive PDP governments to effect manageable repair of the road is a disaster and speaks of the degenerating worth of governance as delivered by the PDP in fourteen years of barren governance. It advises the federal government to hands off the road, if it cannot reconstruct it and allow the governments of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo to fix that very important road.
'Nigerians note that Lagos-Ibadan Expressway remains the busiest and most important road in Nigeria as it serves as the vital access the nation has to Lagos, Nigeria's commercial and industrial hub and mega city.
Nigerians note that the road was constructed about 43 years ago by the military regime and since then, no worthy reconstruction or rehabilitation work had been done on it. Nigerians know that the last fourteen years of PDP governance has only succeeded in mounting giant billboards on the road while it continues to deteriorate. The giant billboards with colour photographs of former President Olusegun Obasanjp are still on the road.
'We witnessed in utter helplessness as the PDP government concessioned the road to Bi Courtney, which moped in helplessness for over three years as the road continued its progressive degeneration, taking its tolls on lives and properties. We heaved a sigh of relief when the present Jonathan government announced the revocation of the contract to Bi Courtney and re-awarded it to Julius Berger and RCC. Nearly one year after the contract award, Nigerians are wondering when meaningful work will start on the road, even as the presence of the two companies on the road remains sketchy.
'Lagos ACN notes that presently, Nigerians waste precious man hours on never ending traffic gridlocks that always stretch from the Lagos end to Shagamu. We note that countless deaths and carnage continue to occur on the road due to the poor nature of the road. These have become daily occurrences that Nigerians wonder when these two construction companies will commence real work on the badly neglected road.
We demand quick and immediate commencement of comprehensive reconstruction of the road to save Nigerians the increasing torture they face We wonder the scope of the contracts on the road and demand that the federal government hand over the road to the three states of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo to build and manage if it cannot effect a comprehensive rehabilitation of the road. We make this demand given the significant importance of the road to the economy of Lagos and Nigeria as a whole. We believe that a functional and well maintained Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will add immensely to the health of a robust economy for Lagos and indeed the entire country. We demand quick, urgent and far reaching action on the road.'