Ambode Rules out Reconstruction of Federal Roads in Apapa
Laments continued parking on bridges by truck drivers Asks Lagos CP to rid Apapa of motorcycle operators
Gboyega Akinsanmi
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday ruled out the possibility of reconstructing federal roads in Apapa, citing what the state government went through before the federal government ceded Oshodi-Airport road.
The governor, however, promised to work out an arrangement that would cushion the effect of traffic congestion commuters “are experiencing along ApapaOshodi expressway, especially from Coconut to Tin-Can Island and Liverpool roads.”
He made the disclosure at a quarterly townhall meeting he addressed at the Apapa Amusement Park yesterday, lamenting that the nuisance caused by truck drivers on bridges and flyovers “is worse than few hundred living in the shanties.”
He addressed the stakeholders alongside the Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tunji Bello; the Attorney-General and & Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem; Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, and a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Tajudeen Olusi, among others.
At the townhall meeting, Ambode said the Tin Can Island road “is a federal project. The little we can do is to cushion the effect of traffic congestion commuters experience daily on the road. We do not want to create any conflict with federal agencies.
“Everyone can testify to what we experienced before we could get the federal government approved our design to reconstruct and expand the Oshodi-Airport road to a ten-lane expressway. We have left the roads in Apapa axis for the federal government. We will look at what they can do. We do not want to take too much into our hands.
“Since we are already expanding the airport road, we do not want to go into another commitment that will affect the reconstruction of Oshodi-Airport road. But I can assure you that we can do some palliative to cushion effect of the gridlock. We must ensure that it is not in conflict with the contract that had been awarded.”
The governor explained that once a contract “is awarded, whatever the state spend on such project, the federal government will not refund the money. The rehabilitation we are doing on federal roads is majorly for residents of Lagos State. The residents of the state feel the pain on the road and not those living in Abuja.
“That is what governance is all about. It is pathetic that the way Apapa was before is no more. We cannot afford to leave Apapa now because this is where Lagos started commercial means of revenue generation in the state. I like to regenerate different areas. But I cannot do everything because of paucity of funds.”
He lamented that the nuisance caused by trailer drivers on Lagos bridges and flyovers “is worse than few hundred living in the shanties. “We must find a place to keep the trailers. At the end of the day, it is the little taxes generated within the state that will be used to rebuild bridges on Western Avenue when it is damaged.
“So, we cannot allow trailers that had converted the bridges to their parking lot to continue. Their continued stay on the bridge is dangerous to the longevity of the bridges. The reason I cannot remove the trailers from the bridge presently is that there is no alternative for them presently. It is the alternative that I have embarked upon. Some people complained that their structures were removed,” he said.
The governor equally decried the menace created by commercial motorcycle operators in Apapa, noting that the state government could no longer tolerate their activities.
He, therefore, directed the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, “to act immediately. We have given them too much space to operate. They have become a major nuisance within this axis. We can no longer accept the manner they operate.”