HEADLINENEWS.NEWS correspondent investigates that residents and corporate organisations along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway are aghast when they learnt about the payment of a whopping N1.06 trillion for the pilot phase of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, which will remain under construction for the next eight years, when their ever busy highway is abandoned despite several promises.
Many are at a loss as to why the Federal Government is not committed to completing the road despite the carnage, permanent injuries and loss of countless lives witnessed and experienced by users of the highway on a daily basis.
Adejobi Teslim, a School Proprietor in one the highway’s towns, who spoke with Daily Independent, said: “It appears the government is actually overwhelmed with the state of that road and completely bereft of what to do to ameliorate the excruciating suffering of commuters who daily go through the most traumatic experience on any road that is in a terrible state.
One wonders what could be running on the minds of government officials who ply the road at any point in time; are they playing the ostrich, because they know there is no immediate solution coming the way of hapless commuters plying the highway or are they hoping to keep using propaganda to distort facts and stifle daily public outcry?”, he queried.
In October 2023, not a few residents of the towns bestriding the highway laughed heartily when they heard that the entourage of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, 10 other Senators and that of Governor Dapo Abiodun were held in traffic for three hours on the dilapidated Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta on their way to Ilaro to attend the grand finale of the week-long 2023 Yewa Cultural Festival in October.
Senator Akpabio, speaking rhetorically at the programme, said travelling on the road he experienced first-hand the hardship Nigerians using the road were being subjected to and promised to give the necessary support to Ogun State to ensure the reconstruction of the road.
He said: “The 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is going to get the list of things you want us to do here.
“I saw the road; two trucks fell on the road, so we ended up spending over two hours on the road. I was determined to go through the road that you go through. Now, I have seen what you have been seeing. From today, I prophesy that your roads are done.
“Yewaland has the greatest number of industries that a local government can ever have in Nigeria. Therefore, we recognise the need to use the best set of contractors to do your roads because of the wear and tear. I assure you that we will be working with our brother, Dapo Abiodun. Your lives will not be the same again.”
Since then nothing has changed, not even a single tractor has been deployed to the expressway to indicate a move that the government is serious about the repair works it promised.
Milton Osadebe, the Business Development Manager for a haulage company with corporate office in Ijesha area of Lagos, told Daily Independent that his company never had it this rough in many years since he joined the company, because of the loss of several of their logistic trucks along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway in the last one year.
According to him, “it is now a policy of the company not to honour patronage from companies or clients operating along the expressway due to the huge losses we incurred both on our trucks and the precarious liability incurred on the goods in transit, often times we incurs more cost than what we charged to deliver the goods and clients are not ready to increase or make further payments when our trucks somersaults on that very bad highway.”
The stretch of the road between the U-turn bus-stop in Lagos state and Singer bus-stop in Ogun state is about 10 kilometers, but, it is dotted with over 168 deep potholes looking more like emerging gullies and craters panel beating vehicles into grotesque shapes when you drive through that stretch.
In a chat with me, Hon Seye Sotunde, a former council official at the Surelere local Government Area, now residing in one of the towns serviced by the road, said, it is quite frustrating that a key economic road like this can be made to deteriorate to this extent.
Sotunde further said, the chassis of his vehicle has been badly impacted by the perennial topsy-turvy daily experience driving on the road to and fro his business place at Ikeja.
Alhaji Abegunde Ajayi, the CEO of Abex Logistics Nigeria Limited, with its headquarters in Sango Ota, said, “The road is nothing short of a nightmare and transporters’ worst enemy at the moment”.
He recalled how he lost over four million naira last year when one of his trucks conveying consignments for a client fell over as it entered one of those gully-like holes around Amje Bus stop and the entire bottled drink content was mercilessly shattered and spilled all over the road.
He added that, “It is unfortunate that the state of the road has contributed in no small measure to making transport business less attractive and less profitable, stressing that the life span of the average commercial vehicle is far less than what it used to be and cost of maintenance has quadrupled”. Abegunde concluded.
It is estimated that the expressway handles more than 3,000 vehicles and more than 1million people with goods running into millions of tons daily. It is one of Nigeria’s key economic roads, strategic for providing the required connectivity between the producer and market.
Except for rhetorical statements from the government especially during campaign periods nothing has been done to change the current horrible state of the expressway, the motoring public have since known that the promises were ploys and gimmicks to score cheap political goals during every election.
The seeming silence since the boast of the Senate President must have moved members of the House of Representatives to also task the Federal Government to fix the deplorable Lagos-Abeokuta expressway from Abule Egba to Sango.
The House resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Benjamin Olabinjo, who underscored the need for the provision of adequate funding of the project in the 2024 Appropriation bill.
In his lead debate, Hon. Olabinjo lamented that the “current condition of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway poses severe safety hazards for road users, due to potholes, uneven surfaces, and inadequate road markings have contributed to accidents and loss of lives.
“The House also notes the deplorable state of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway from Abule Egba to Sango, which has become a death trap for motorists and commuters.
“The House is concerned that the Impact on Livelihoods of people living along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway has been seriously affected as limited accessibility due to road conditions hampers daily activities, including access to schools, healthcare facilities, markets, and employment opportunities. Swift repair is crucial to restore normalcy, enhance economic opportunities, and improve the quality of life for residents.
“The House is also concerned that the deplorable state of the road has resulted in severe traffic congestion, causing significant delays and disruptions in the movement of goods and people.
“This has negatively impacted economic activities, increased transportation costs, and hindered the growth of businesses along the route. Urgent repair and rehabilitation are necessary to alleviate traffic congestion and promote economic development in the region.
“The House is worried that the state of the road creates a negative impression of the region and deters potential visitors and tourists because it is one of the major routes connecting two significant states, which serves as a gateway to Lagos and Ogun States.
“The House is also worried that the poor road conditions hinder tourism potential, impede regional development, and adversely affect the local economy,” he noted.
To this end, the House urged the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, in collaboration with relevant agencies and stakeholders, to allocate adequate resources, including funding and manpower, for the timely repair, reconstruction, and comprehensive rehabilitation of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway and include it in the 2024 budget estimate.
While ruling on the motion, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas mandated the House Committee on FERMA to carry out rehabilitation on the failed portion of the Road.
He also mandated the Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure implementation.
Equally in August last year, Engineer Olukorede Keisha, the Controller of Works at the Federal Ministry of Works, Lagos State, in a telephone conversation with Daily Independent, confirmed that the abandoned sections of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway will be given top place priority as the newly constituted Federal Executive Council begins meeting with David Umahi.
According to her, “As a Ministry, we are aware of the state of the road and have always appealed for patience from the motoring public, while trying to make them understand that the road was not completed owing to the paucity of funds at the Federal level, the meager resources available is being appropriated amongst many dilapidated road networks across the country which are also in very dire and critical conditions, realizing that all the roads cannot receive attention at the same time from the government.
“However, we asked Julius Berger PLC to go back to the road and complete it, but the company realised that the state of the road has worsened beyond what they estimated when they left the site initially, it will not be reasonable therefore to go back to work when we know that the resources available will not be enough to handle the quantum of work left on the road.” Engineer Keisha said.
Engineer Keisha therefore assured that the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway is on the front burners and certainly be one of those to be presented to the Honourable Minister of Works for his quick attention.
