Lagos Needs N8tr To Fix Infrastructure —Fashola

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has disclosed that the state government will need N8 trillion ($50 billion) to fix infrastructure in Lagos.

The governor said there was no way the government could provide the fund to address this challenge as its budget is too meagre to cope with the demand.

Fashola spoke at the commissioning of three roads and a 110-bed Maternal and Child Care Centre, MCC, in Surulere area of Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

He stated that that the regeneration and bridging of the gap in infrastructural challenge by the state had begun in earnest.

He said since 1999, the regeneration of the infrastructure had moved from Ikeja to Victoria Island Central Business District (CBD) to Old Yaba, Apapa, Mushin, Ketu, Ijesa and Surulere.

“Every year, the best we can ever manage to do is about $3billion (N480billion). The calculation of our budget is about that size and that includes all the taxes that you pay, so you can see what we are up against.”

Fashola stated that the projects were in fulfillment of the promise he made to residents of Surulere during his pre-election campaign and urged the residents to protect the properties.

The governor said the roads were constructed by local construction companies which employed about 738 people during the period of construction, thereby providing jobs for unemployed youths in the country.

“We believe that this is the way to grow the economy, this is the way to provide jobs, we can’t provide jobs by just speaking, you provide jobs by getting things done,” he stated.

Fashola warned residents against carrying out activities on the roads that could shorten their life span, saying that the roads were built with tax payers’ money.

“This is not Fashola road, this is our road, it is for you and I. You have a duty to protect it and ensure it serves you the purpose for which it was built,” he added.

According to Fashola, the train of road construction would continue to move across the state to ensure that network of roads were constructed, while he appealed for the cooperation of residents to ensure that the challenges of infrastructural development were surmounted.

The governor stated that the state was also embarking on other road projects in Surulere and its environs, which included Agbebi, Imam Dauda and Bode Thomas, adding that a block of four flats to house 36 families in Shitta was also under construction.

The three roads commissioned are the 1.4km Akerele Street; 960m Adelabu Street and 1.2km Ogunlana Street.

Earlier, Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, noted that the projects attested to the commitment of the administration to ensure better life for the citizens since it will have a significant impact on the people of the area.

Hamzat explained that the essence of the upgrade of the road was to de-flood the area and address the perennial traffic problems occasioned by the increased presence of commercial outfits in the area.

The commissioner appealed to the public to use the roads effectively in a manner which will extend the lifespan of the roads by refraining from such habits as indiscriminate dumping of waste into the drains, disposal of oil waste on the road, cutting of road and washing of cars on the road.

He further appealed to the public to imbibe maintenance culture by being the government’s watchdog to apprehend those who engage in willful damage to government properties.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga