14th October, 2011
The Lagos State House of Assembly has decried the deplorable condition of state and federal roads and the harrowing experiences of road users on a daily basis in the state.
While praising the state government for its intervention on some of the roads, it took a swipe at the Federal Government for making unfulfilled promises as regards fixing of federal roads in the state.
The lawmakers narrated their experiences on the roads with some informing the House that many residents have lost their jobs because they got to office late from home.
Their anger against the Federal Government was stoked when one of the lawmakers, Hon. Avoseh Hodewu Suru, representing Badagry Constituency 2, raised the issue of the poor state of federal roads as a matter of public importance on the floor of the House.
Avoseh, who appealed to his colleagues to help call the Federal Government’s attention to the sorry state of some portions of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, added that most of the Badagry residents who work in Lagos have sour tales to tell about the traffic situation on the road.
He said those who have businesses to do in Lagos must leave home by 5a.m. if not they may be held up in traffic for hours.
Speaking in Yoruba, the lawmaker said federal roads in the state have been neglected by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
He listed some of the badly affected axis of the Lagos-Badagry expressway to include Mile 2, Okokomaiko, Ijanikin and Agbara, saying the Federal Government needed to wake up from its slumber.
Avoseh’s colleague, Sanai Agunbiade, representing Ikorodu Constituency 1, maintained that it was high time the lawmakers were made to go back to their various constituencies, get photographs of the dilapidated federal roads and sending a letter with the photographs attached, to the Federal Government.
He mentioned the road in Okebegun, which is between Sagamu and Ikorodu close to Lagos State Polytechnic as having failed and causing fatal accidents.
He also said the road had cut off 41 communities in the constituency but added that the General Manager of the state Public Works Corporation, Mr. Gbenga Akintola, has been doing his best to cushion the effect of the road on the people.
Another lawmaker representing Oshodi Constituency 1, Babatunde Ayeni, also reminded the House of the failed portion on Cement Bus Stop along the Ikeja-Oshodi road, which results in serious traffic gridlock every day.
Hon. Rotimi Olowo representing Shomolu also listed Owode-Onirin on Ikorodu Road, Tin-Can Island on Lagos-Apapa expressway as deserving of urgent attention by the Federal Government.
He wondered why despite several calls on the government, the roads have been left to become death traps.
Olowo suggested the use of the LSPWC to carry out palliative measures on the road pending when the Federal Government will fix them.
Hon. Segun Olulade, from Epe Constituency 2, also complained about the road between Epe and Ijebu-Ode and the one from Ikorodu to Epe.
Alhaja Ramota Akinola Hassan, a lawmaker, who attended the sitting late, said she was held up in the traffic on her way to the Assembly between Agbara and Mile 2.
She said the day’s traffic problem was caused by some trucks and that she had to come down and assist the state traffic officers, LASTMA till she could find a way out.
However, the Majority Leader of the House, Dr Ajibayo Adeyeye, differed in his opinion and reminded the House that it had severally lamented the state of the roads without the Federal Government showing any concern.
He suggested that the House should rather set up a committee that would make its findings known to the state’s representatives at the National Assembly for appropriate action.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, with the consent of his colleagues, constituted an 8-man Committee to look into the condition of both federal and state roads within the state and report back to the House.
The committee members include Rotimi Abiru who is to serve as Chairman, Dayo Saka Fafunmi, Yishau Gbolahan, Hodewu Avoseh, Sanai Agunbiade, Alhaja Ramota Akinola Hassan, Segun Olulade, Bolaji Yusuf Ayinla.
—Eromosele Ebhomele