17th January, 2013
The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN has said that local road contractors have failed the masses and the Government.
Fashola who said this when he was going through some construction projects in some parts of Ikorodu, Epe and Agbowa, also expressed his administration’s readiness to always listen to the masses’ yearnings as they are the reason for the existence of the government.
“There’s no need for anybody to get needlessly angry, your representatives at the State house of Assembly, particularly S. O. Agunbiade, have been working with me on this project. The fact that we awarded a contract must indicate to you that we want to make things better.”
“We are human beings and we can make mistakes, that’s the main reason we are on this project inspection tour. Not just to show the projects that are being worked on, but to see where we have made mistakes and where we have done well.”
“On this job, you can’t win and on one hand, there have been arguments that we should award contracts to local companies, this is it now. On the other hand, we’re saying that all our contractors are foreigners that we should give local contractors an opportunity and we are not happy with the work of the contractors. It’s our desire to build all the roads to the same standard but we can’t, I must confess. We’ll change the contractor, definitely” he explained.
The Governor further informed that people of Ikorodu that they also have roles to play if everything they desire must be accomplished, while citing the issue of incessant cultists mayhem in the area as the major problem that curbed if sanity must return to Ikorodu.
He said:”There are still a lot of work that all of us have to do here. Whoever eventually gets the nod to finish to the work will need your co-operation and your collaboration. The present contractors may have taken about two years but some things may not be open to you. They have to relocate facilities, pipelines, cables and some other things that may not be open to you.”
“We are aware that there are a lot of problems here especially with the young people; the cultists’ activities and other vices. I’m sending Policemen here because I need peace here. We’ve been hearing of attacks on citizens and gang works. You have to stop all that so that peace will reign in Ikorodu.”
—Damilare Okunola