Why Lagos Roads Are Bad —Public Works Boss

The Executive Chairman, Lagos State Public Works Corporation, PWC, Mr. Gbenga  Akintola said the corporation has not been able to patch some roads in the state  because of the inclement weather condition and lack of fund.

He said roads in the state were getting bad as a result of the rains, saying that  there was nothing much the corporation could do until the rains were over.

“Our job is to put mechanism in place to make sure that the roads in Lagos State are  motorable. The weather has not been favourable this year, it is something that is   global and one will not want to dwell so much on that as one of the reasons that did  not make us to perform.

“We equally embarked on some palliative remedial works on Lagos roads. From August  to date, we have effectively worked on over 110 roads in Lagos State;  especially,  we were at Ayobo-Ipaja. We started palliative works there. Even if you spend the  whole government money on roads, it cannot solve the problem.

“Previous governments have not actually paid attention to road problems in the  state; most of the roads in the state have actually outlived their lifespan. We have  roads that have been there 20 to 30 years. Our level of involvement on Lagos roads  has been minimal,” he said.

“The weather has been a problem, and as soon as the weather is clement, we will go  ahead with roads maintenance. We went to Ayobo-Ipaja to do some palliative work, but  it rained the following day. When people make noise of the state of their roads,our  duty is to inform them why the roads are like that.

He also said the corporation lacked fund to carry out massive rehabilitation of  roads in the state, adding that “we already have strategies in place to deal with  this problem. The governor has really shown more interest in the affairs of LSPWC.

“The amount of money coming to the coffers of the government is limited. In as much  as we want to do much, we have to manage the little fund that we have. We have other  sectors that required funding as well. What we are saying is that the number of road  and the amount of money we have is not commensurate to take care of the roads.”

The PWC boss stated that the agency was hoping that more money would come to enable  it carry out repair works on some bad roads in the state, saying that the  corporation was working with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA,  to identify the roads that needed urgent attention.

“We will first of all start with areas with high density first. Our target is 100  roads per month during the dry season. We have gangs of workers to be working in  every Local Government.

“We have the workforce; we have the bitumen and the materials necessary to produce  asphalt. We want to achieve the best. I feel depressed when I go round Lagos roads.  They should give us maximum of four weeks and they will see our action in Lagos  State,” he stated.

He appealed to Lagosians to exercise patience assuring that very soon, the roads in  the state would take shape.

According to him, the state government had discovered that the use of interlocking  paving stones were more durable to withstand wears on roads during the rainy season,  noting that the corporation had started experimenting with them.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga