June 1, 2021

The Lagos State government has urged the Federal Government to provide adequate funding for Lagos Ibadan express way.

The state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, made the appeal when the House of Representatives Committee on Works paid him a courtesy visit in Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu said the state government has taken a leap to begin the 10 lanes highway on the Lagos -Badagry expressway and has already done 18 kilometres of the road.

He appealed to the Federal Ministry of works to push it further, and take it to Badagry.

He said the work on the road needed to be extended to Badagry as it was an international road that carried heavy traffic.

According to him, the road work will be taken up to Okokomaiko area of the state.

“The Lagos-Badagry expressway is one that I am aware they do not have sufficient funding. It is an international gateway. Ghana, Republic of Benin, Togo, we hear that they have done their own, it is a trans-West African corridor.

“It has five West African countries passing through it but only the Nigerian part of it that has not been truly fixed, which is from the Seme Border into Lagos and it can get straight to the port,” the governor noted.

According to him, Lagos has taken the lead by starting something, as the state is constructing a 10-lane highway.

“We have done almost like 15-18km of that and we are taking it to a place called Okokomaiko.

“We have been expecting the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Works to now push it and take it to Badagry.

“Our desire is for them to make it a 10-lane highway. We are building for the future and we have put in a rail in the middle of the corridor. It is an international route and has the capacity to take that level of traffic,” he said.

The governor said the Federal Ministry of Works could collaborate with the state to do more in the area of bridges, since some of the bridges were 50 years old, and needed extensive repairs.

He called for the speedy completion of the Lagos-Ibadan Express Road, while hoping for an adjoining road that could reduce traffic on Otedola Bridge.

Sanwo-Olu also said a lot of clean-up needed to be done on Apapa-Oshodi Road, especially around the Tin-Can and Apapa Ports, so that it would free the area of traffic.

He commended the Federal Government for the work done around Victoria Island.

According to him, the desires and needs of residents of Lagos are many and the government is not leaving everything to the Federal Government.

“We have taken the responsibility of trying to build the Fourth Mainland Bridge and will collaborate with the Federal Government at some point.

“It is a 37km Ring road that will exit finally at Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. It is audacious but we are looking to use a PPP model to build it,” said Sanwo-Olu.

He said phase one of the project would commence before the end of his administration.

“We are not leaving anything to chance, we are doing Lekki-Epe Expressway, 18km six-lanes rigid pavement on our own; we are doing 10km regional road, six-lanes on our own.

“We are doing bridges and constructions on our own and that is what can open up and free the city.

“We are not only doing that, we are pushing movement on our waterways, we are doing our rail, so that we can have an integrated mass transportation, using rail, using waterways and using the road connectivity in Lagos.

“We want anybody to come here to see, indeed, that it is comparable to any city in the world,” he said.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman, House Committee on Works, Abubakar Kabir Abubakar, said his committee had reached out to the contractor in charge of the Marine and Eko Bridge and they promised that the project would be completed in four weeks’ time.

Abubakar said the committee was also working on a new project in Lagos – on the Isolo-Mushin Road and would ensure the completion of the Ikorodu-Sagamu Road before the end of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“Lagos State is very important and critical to the Nigerian economy. Lagos is important to us and that is why road construction is very critical for Lagos State. We have important roads in Lagos State.

“The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has directed our committee to give Lagos special attention because of the importance of the state to the federation.

“We have to support the efforts of Lagos State Government and Federal Government in making sure that Lagos has the best roads, so that people will not be stucked in traffic for four to five hours.

“We have to do what we can to make sure that Lagosians have the best roads. We will do our best to make that happen,”he said.

Caption: L-R: Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Works, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Abubakar receiving a plaque from Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during a courtesy visit to the Governor at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Monday, May 31, 2021